Dynamic displays

A standard scatterplot is a static display that can be presented on paper as effectively as on a computer screen. In contrast, our next display for data with three variables is a dynamic display that can only be used on a computer — the information in the display is conveyed by movement.

Three-dimensional scatterplot

Body fat

Three-dimensional scatterplots are an interesting (and occasionally useful) way to display data. They are however much overrated as an analysis technique and simpler displays are usually more effective for extracting information from multivariate data.