Reddit mentions of Visualizing Data: Exploring and Explaining Data with the Processing Environment

So, basically, I've gone through roughly the same arc of interests as you. Math major, got into graphic design, got into web design, got into programming, started wondering how I was going to tie it all together. Luckily, my school's honors program offers students the opportunity to design their own thesis, regardless of what major you come from. So, I did mine in:

Data Visualization. The point of this is to take data (math!) and represent it (programming!) in a simple, understandable, and elegant manner (design!). I love it. I feel like it's my calling. No idea if you'll be drawn it it as much as I am, but here's some links to browse through:

• Edward Tufte - Popularized the field
  
• Processing.org's Gallery - I've been using Processing in my own visualization work, it's a great language for that.
  
• Visualizing Data - Steller book if you want to start playing around in this field

I highly recommend Visualizing Data by Ben Fry, the guy who created ZipDecode. It's a very well-written, and accessible, and it goes through explanations of the Processing framework in a very hands-on way.

You're gonna love it!

Check out the book 'Visualizing Data'. It's written in Java but it talks about a buttload of different methods to display your data including quite a hefty chapter on maps!

LINK : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visualizing-Data-Explaining-Processing-Environment/dp/0596514557/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373782455&sr=1-1&keywords=visualizing+data

It's a very good book, I just wish I could read java a bit better...

I only heard of it today (via reddit of course) but maybe gephi is what you need. I'm sure there are others.

Some visualisations will be created with languages such as Processing. This Book might be of interest.

I would check out Ben Fry's book first.

Then Beautiful Visualization.

There is another good McCandless eyecandy.

Manuel Lima did an amazing book on network visualization with excellent essays from other people. Visual Complexity. Network vis is very difficult and if you want to "game up" understanding the taxonomy he built for network vis will give you a real perspective on the taxonomy in other types of vis.

There are things outside of the "take data and render visualization" world that are critical to data vis, imo. For moving data vis, start with the godfather, Muybridge

And look way way back for the long human history of data vis in cartography with stuff like Cartographia.

Hope to see some more books and discvoer a reading list on this thread! Great idea for a post.