Micro/Macro Readings — Tufte really?

I am guessing Tufte does not suffer from attention deficiency. Who actually has the patience to explain about dense design? He is amazing. His whole concept is contradictory but it works: show as much data with as little decoration as possible. He talks about keeping it simple with a lot of accuracy. 

 

How can I let the data speak for itself?  

As a designer the photographer and I always struggle with the writers to get each 1/3 of the page. We often request shorter text. Tufte would probably disagree.

I understand that as a designer I should be able to show the overview of the project and then add details to clarify. I will also remind myself that clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information.