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Towards a Theory of Bullshit Visualization (2109.12975v1)
Published 23 Sep 2021 in cs.GL and cs.HC
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.