What long COVID taught me about life (and data) | Giorgia Lupi

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2024

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Data isn't just about numbers or trends — it's about capturing the stories that shape our lives, says information designer Giorgia Lupi. Following a long COVID diagnosis, she tracked her symptoms meticulously over four years, the data culminating in a visual "New York Times" narrative that resonated deeply with many others suffering from chronic illness. Lupi invites us to consider data not as a rigid or objective truth, but as a living language used to better understand ourselves, offering a surprising shift in perspective — depending on where you look.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective.
0:02.0	Audio Collective.
0:04.0	You're listening to Ted Talks Daily,
0:08.0	where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.
0:15.0	I'm your host, Elise Hugh.
0:17.0	The world is made of data, as I'm sure you're reminded every time you're on a smartphone,
0:22.0	but information designer Georgia
0:23.7	Loopy makes a case for choosing more intentionally what kind of data to pay
0:28.2	attention to. And as she shares in her 2024 talk, her attention to data actually helped solve a medical
0:35.0	mystery in her own life.
0:37.8	After a short break.
0:40.9	And now our TED Talk of the day.
0:44.0	I know this sounds weird, but the thing that I'm the most passionate about in the entire world is data.
0:51.0	Really fun, right?
0:52.0	Well, I believe so. In my practice as a designer, I use data to tell stories.
0:57.0	Stories that are anchored in numbers, but actually that are mostly defined by small and qualitative data,
1:04.4	which are the one that can add all of the context and human nuances.
1:09.2	But what does that mean?
1:10.8	Well, for example, when Google wanted to help people understand the threat of plastic pollution,
1:16.4	we designed a micro site where you can drop objects that you use every day,
1:22.0	such as a disposable plastic bottle,
1:24.2	and see how they break apart into microplastic
	...

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