xkcd channels Tolkein and Tufte at the same time

I have actually mapped stories out that way, for no reason other that my own warped entertainment. Discovering the Minard diagram was like a revelation.

I hadn't seen the Minard map before. It's a stunning depiction of the troop losses.

aha! I knew when I saw the xkcd comic that it reminded me of something. The LOTR diagram is truly awesome in its detail and obsessivitude. But the Tufte connection makes the whole thing even cooler.

No, it's the film of the Lord of the Rings. Nothing to do with Tolkien at all. You can tell by the elves at Helms Deep.

There doesn't seem to be a version that's magnifiable to the point of being readable, which is a pity.

The "Primer" joke is lost on me, as I'm not familiar with it.

I think I've sometimes wished for a diagram like this when reading particularly complex novels (not so much for movies), but it's easy to think of situations that would be difficult to handle (so character A, in between doing X and Y, is later revealed to have impersonated character B, who in retaliation steals the time machine that we saw in the flashback, and so forth).

I don't expect to see such diagram as standard appendices any time soon, not even in e-books.

@5

Click the link 'Movie Narrative Charts' bioephemera provided, then click on the graphic once you're there. Very big image. Very obsessive with detail, too :-)

(bioephemera: If you don't know it already, you're on my blogroll!)

Thanks, Grant, for the clarification (and the compliment) :)

nerd-o-licious as always. This filled me with geeky glee.

On a tangentially related note, I recommend artist Ward Shelley's schematic paintings.

http://hungryhyaena.blogspot.com/2009/05/ward-shelley-at-pierogi.html

http://www.wardshelley.com/