The articles from the reading #1 give a general sense of how the data visualization can be used as a tool to tell different stories, and what are some typical mistakes that we should avoid when we are trying to visualize data, as indicated in "Bar chart axes should include zero. Line graph axes need not include zero. An axis should have something on it." When we are processing the data, it is crucial that we understand the consequence of our design choices. These articles give a lot of bad examples of how people try to fool their audience by changing the subtle elements on their charts. They may do a great job on what they try to convey, but I think we should insist on using data for revealing or understanding the truth and always try making this world a better place. In the article "What makes bad figures bad", it summarizes there are three major things that cloud cause problems, which are "aesthetic", "substantive", and "perceptual", which I think it is really helpful when we are trying to design our own chart. I do agree that we should keep the visualization clear and easy to read. The extra design component may make the visualization seem more interesting in how it appears but always make the data harder for the audience to understand.
However, after the reading, even though there is a lot of conclusions on how to use those old charts, it is still worth experimenting ways of visualizing data. It is always worth trying something new and viewing things from different perspectives.