THE Metro-North Railroad in the early ’80s published a pocket schedule of the arrival and departure times between New Haven and New York. In his book “Envisioning Information,” the information-design theorist Edward Tufte devotes an uncluttered half-page to a hard look at that little piece of paper.

Among other things, he criticizes the font used for “New York” and “New Haven” as “weak in distinguishing between two directions”; he notes that the information flows over three columns, requiring the reader’s eye to move up and down; he counts 41 inches of lines that “segregate what should be together”; and, finally, he questions the use of the letter E to mean “express,” since it could mean “economy,” too.

He didn’t discuss whether the schedule caused paper cuts, but little else escaped his scrutiny.

It was just announced that Mr. Tufte (pronounced tuff-TEE) would be going to Washington. Though often cast as a free-floating information guru, Mr. Tufte has a highly specific mission: on March 5, he was appointed by President Obama to a panel to advise the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which monitors the way the $787 billion in the stimulus package is being spent.

It’s hard to know under these circumstances exactly whom should be offered “good luck” wishes.

“I’m not naïve about it, but I’m enthusiastic and hopeful,” Mr. Tufte said in a telephone interview. “The only way to find out if the cynical view of Washington is right is by doing it.”