The Java railroad line example Tufte brings up is one of the most dense visualizations I’ve ever seen. While it’s far too complex for the average person to use, it accomplishes its goal by compressing a lot of data into a visualization that can be understood along multiple axes and used for multiple purposes. Tufte’s focus on dimensions is a good framework, because fundamentally all complex visualizations have to figure out how to map their axes, and showing complex graphs gives examples of alternative structures to do this. I also think this graph specifically is a good example of the idea that a designer must design for a specific audience, as if the designer was sticking to the conventions used for informing the public, they may have simplified too much. The designer used every bit of available space, and this may have been made even more important due to the fact that this was classified document that may have been needed to be transported often. This stands in sharp contrast to the chartjunk that Tufte refers to, which adds extraneous detail and space. While these ornamental things may seem fun, they distract the viewer from the content and often can even obfuscate the data.