Spurious Correlations

Through hilarious graphs inspired by his viral website, a military intelligence analyst and Harvard Law student explores statistical connections.

“Spurious Correlations … is the most fun you’ll ever have with graphs.” —Bustle

Is there a correlation between Nic Cage films and swimming pool accidents? What about beef consumption and people getting struck by lightning? Absolutely not. But that hasn’t stopped millions of people from going to Tyler Vigen’s website and asking, “Wait, what?” Vigen has designed software that scours enormous data sets to find unlikely statistical correlations. He began pulling the funniest ones for his website and has since gained millions of views, hundreds of thousands of likes, and tons of media coverage. Subversive and clever, Spurious Correlations is geek humor at its finest, nailing our obsession with data and conspiracy theory.

“Although it is often funny, Vigen adds that ‘this book has a serious side. Graphs can lie, and not all correlations are indicative of an underlying causal connection.’ We may love to contemplate the data that seem to connect sharks and tornados (who wouldn’t?), but Vigen’s reminder is important when we’re faced with spurious correlations in the wild, played not for laughs but to mislead.” –Boston Globe

• "Draws into comical and obvious relief how easily we can get trapped into seeing relationships where there are none."
  Boston Globe
• "Hilarious."
  Washington Post
• "Cheeky."
  Huffington Post
• "Bizarre."
  The Daily Mirror