As best I can tell Tufte thinks "data dumps" are the best kinds of visualizations: "Above all else show the data". Unlike salesman, campaigners or reporters Tufte doesn't think good data visualization is about getting a response from the viewer. He thinks we should show the data as best we can so that the viewer can learn from it. I like to think of this as the viewpoint of a scientist or researcher.
This is a rather extreme perspective and probably not effective in most situations where data visualization is used. The techniques used in the famous book "How to Lie with Statistics" are actually mostly about data visualization and are much more practical. This explains their popularity and that of tools that emphasize them like PowerPoint.
From Tufte's point of view we have a lemons market in data visualization: "bad" visualization drives out "good" visualization because it is more effective[1]. Editors, businessmen and politicians will always choose the visualization that empasises their point (i.e. distorts the underlying data). While they are happy with the results Tufte is dismayed.
This is a rather extreme perspective and probably not effective in most situations where data visualization is used. The techniques used in the famous book "How to Lie with Statistics" are actually mostly about data visualization and are much more practical. This explains their popularity and that of tools that emphasize them like PowerPoint.
From Tufte's point of view we have a lemons market in data visualization: "bad" visualization drives out "good" visualization because it is more effective[1]. Editors, businessmen and politicians will always choose the visualization that empasises their point (i.e. distorts the underlying data). While they are happy with the results Tufte is dismayed.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons