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arXiv · 2109.12975

Towards a Theory of Bullshit Visualization

Michael Correll
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Abstract

In this unhinged rant, I lay out my suspicion that a lot of visualizations are bullshit: charts that do not have even the common decency to intentionally lie but are totally unconcerned about the state of the world or any practical utility. I suspect that bullshit charts take up a large fraction of the time and attention of actual visualization producers and consumers, and yet are seemingly absent from academic research into visualization design.

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Michael Correll. 2021-09-23. Towards a Theory of Bullshit Visualization. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.12975

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