Hacker News Reader

I read somewhere that the human brain is better wired to see changes in angles rather than in heights: this is why speedometers are circular. So having in circles some stat that changes in real time or very frequently (I think there should also be a mark for the previous measurement if it is not real time) makes sense.

View on HN

I found a citation for something opposite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_chart#Use.2C_effectiveness_...

> Further, in research performed at AT&T Bell Laboratories, it was shown that comparison by angle was less accurate than comparison by length.

Also, my guess is that speedometers are circular because of technology available at the time first cars were built. I think I'd much rather see a bar as a speed indicator. I guess it could be tested; anyone knows any racing game which allows to switch between standard speedometer and some kind of speed bar?

Just anecdata, but most purpose-built racing dashboards use a linear tachometer (vastly more critical in a racing situation than a speedometer) instead of a circular tachometer. It may just be a packaging thing, though.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com