Logarithmic Scale

On a logarithmic axis, equal distances represent equal multiplications rather than equal additions: 1, 10, 100, 1000 are spaced evenly instead of 1, 2, 3, 4. This compresses huge ranges so that data spanning many orders of magnitude — from tiny startups to trillion-dollar giants — all fits on one readable chart.

Its second power is that anything growing by a constant percentage (like compound interest or an early epidemic) becomes a straight line, making growth rates easy to read off the slope. The crucial caution: a log axis can make explosive growth look mild and tame, so it must be clearly labeled — a reader who assumes a normal linear axis will badly misjudge the real magnitudes.