Spurious correlation #5,683 · View random
A linear line chart with years as the X-axis and two variables on the Y-axis. The first variable is Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana and the second variable is The number of graphic designers in Indiana. The chart goes from 2003 to 2018, and the two variables track closely in value over that time.

A linear line chart with years as the X-axis and two variables on the Y-axis. The first variable is Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana and the second variable is The number of graphic designers in Indiana. The chart goes from 2003 to 2018, and the two variables track closely in value over that time.

Download png, svg

AI explanation

As more Republican Senators were elected, there was a surge in demand for political campaign materials. This led to a need for more graphic designers to create eye-catching logos, posters, and digital content. It was like a red wave of design work swept across the state, prompting a graphic design boom. So, you could say the Republican votes in Indiana really colored the job market for graphic designers!

^{Show image generation prompt} Model: dalle-3
Prompt: Prompt: Generate an image in the style of a popular meme from Reddit, illustrating a wave of graphic designers flooding the job market in Indiana due to a surge in Republican votes. Show vibrant and eye-catching political campaign materials being designed and produced, reflecting the evolving political landscape in the state. The image should capture the energetic and lively atmosphere as design creativity meets political fervor in Indiana. The depiction should include only scenes, people, and objects, it should not include text or speech bubbles.

This image generation prompt was also generated by AI, using the following sequence:

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You select one of a few potential scene descriptors that seems to go along with the variables described. You respond only with the scene descriptions provided and say nothing else.
User prompt: Here are two variables: Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana and The number of graphic designers in Indiana. Given these, which of the following image style descriptions seems most appropriate? Pick the one that seems to be related to one of the variables at hand. Please respond with only one of the following potential descriptions: Surrealism Oragami a funny image you would see on reddit Scalar art Psychedelic
ChatGPT: a funny image you would see on reddit

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You describe simple visual scenes that depict the two variables stated. You combine both variables into one scene.
User prompt: Please describe a visual scene that prominently depicts both Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana and The number of graphic designers in Indiana, in the following situation: As more Republican Senators were elected, there was a surge in demand for political campaign materials. This led to a need for more graphic designers to create eye-catching logos, posters, and digital content. It was like a red wave of design work swept across the state, prompting a graphic design boom. So, you could say the Republican votes in Indiana really colored the job market for graphic designers!. Keep the description simple.
ChatGPT: In Indiana, a surge in Republican votes led to a surge in demand for political campaign materials. As a result, a wave of graphic designers flooded the job market, creating eye-catching logos, posters, and digital content to reflect the increasing political support. The intertwining of votes for Republican senators and the influx of graphic designers painted a vibrant picture of the state's evolving political landscape.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You write and improve image generation prompts for DALLE-3. You maintain the same subjects, but enhance the visuals.
User prompt: Please respond with an image generation prompt that would be likely to create an interesting visual using DALLE-3, using the following style: [ a funny image you would see on reddit ] and depicting this scene: In Indiana, a surge in Republican votes led to a surge in demand for political campaign materials. As a result, a wave of graphic designers flooded the job market, creating eye-catching logos, posters, and digital content to reflect the increasing political support. The intertwining of votes for Republican senators and the influx of graphic designers painted a vibrant picture of the state's evolving political landscape. Keep the visual depiction simple. Do not include any words or speech bubbles.
ChatGPT: Prompt: Generate an image in the style of a popular meme from Reddit, illustrating a wave of graphic designers flooding the job market in Indiana due to a surge in Republican votes. Show vibrant and eye-catching political campaign materials being designed and produced, reflecting the evolving political landscape in the state. The image should capture the energetic and lively atmosphere as design creativity meets political fervor in Indiana.

*Variations in the User Prompts from chart to chart are just the result of random number generation in Python. I wrote a few arrays of various styles and methods to ask questions to change up the results. Every time this site writes an explanation or generates an image, the script picks from each at random.

I sequence the requests into multiple prompts because I find GPT 3.5 to perform much better with short, well-managed contexts. Thus, I track the context directly in Python and only ask ChatGPT targeted questions.
^{Show prompt for explanation} Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106 (fine-tuned)
System prompt: You provide humorous responses in the form of plausible sounding explanations for correlations. You assume the correlation is causative for the purpose of the explanation even if it is ridiculous. You do not chat with the user, you only reply with the causal connection explanation and nothing else.
User prompt: Please make up a funny explanation for how an increase in Republican votes for Senators in Indiana caused The number of graphic designers in Indiana to increase. Include one good pun.

AI academic paper

(Because p < 0.05)

Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana

The Journal of Visual Persuasion Studies

Jan 2024

Reminder: This paper is AI-generated. Not real!

^{Show prompt used to generate this paper} Quick note: This sequence is long and repetitive. That's how the prompt engineering works for this one. I manage the output in Python to format it into this PDF.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a goofy academic researcher writing an academic paper. You follow the rules, but you throw out convention regularly to make jokes and funny asides.You draft a literature review section of an academic research paper, that starts out dry for the first few sentences but then becomes hilarious and goofy.
User prompt:
Pretend you are an academic researcher. Your writing sounds like it belongs in a medical or economics journal. However, you frequently crack jokes, make puns, or add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please make up a literature review section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and The number of graphic designers in Indiana. Make lots of jokes, goofy observations, and puns.

Speak in the present tense for this section (the authors find...), as is common in academic research paper literature reviews. Name the sources in a format similar to this: In "Book," the authors find lorem and ipsum.

Make up the lorem and ipsum part, but make it sound related to the topic at hand.

Start by naming serious-sounding studies by authors like Smith, Doe, and Jones - but then quickly devolve. Name some real non-fiction books that would be related to the topic. Then name some real fiction books that sound like they could be related. Then devolve ever further, and mention something completely ridiculous, like you conducted literature review by reading the backs of shampoo bottles.

Here is the title and abstract of the paper:
[[TITLE]]
"Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this study, we set out on a whimsical journey to explore the correlation between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. While some may think the two are as distant as oil and watercolor, our research aimed to brush away such skepticism. Utilizing data wizardry from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we unearthed a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209 and p < 0.05 for the years 2003 to 2018. Our findings reveal that the political landscape in Indiana seems to have its own color scheme, one that echoes through the realm of graphic design. So, let us dive deep into this kaleidoscopic venture and explore the curious interplay between politics and the visual arts in the Hoosier state.

-------

And here is the introduction section that led to this literature review:
[[INTRODUCTION]]
As the old saying goes, "In politics, as in art, it is impossible to get a pure blue out of what has primarily a yellow content.” (Eugene Delacroix, probably not talking about political parties, but humor me here.) In the realm of politics, Indiana stands out like a Jackson Pollock painting at a formal dinner party, with its vibrant hues of red and blue splattered across the electoral canvas. On the other hand, the world of graphic design is a colorful, whimsical wonderland where creativity knows no bounds, much like a Dr. Seuss illustration on a caffeine high.
In this study, we embarked on a quest to delve into the cryptic connection between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. Like scientists wielding beakers and test tubes, we carefully concocted a concoction of data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and the whimsically named Bureau of Labor Statistics. With our research wands, we cast spells and conjured up a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209, much to the amazement of our peers and the chagrin of any naysayers.
“I’m sorry, did I hear that right? You’re trying to correlate Republican votes with graphic designers? Are you sure you didn’t mix up your data with a surrealist fever dream?” Yes, dear skeptic, we are well aware of the eyebrow-raising nature of our variables. But fear not, for we have not lost our scientific marbles. Our findings are as robust as Einstein's mustache, and our statistical analyses are as precise as a neurosurgeon's scalpel. Lo and behold, we discovered a p-value of less than 0.05, signaling a relationship as real as a Picasso painting… and definitely not a forgery.
So, come, dear reader, let us traverse this whimsical wonderland of statistical analysis and political peculiarities. Join us as we unravel the mystery behind the kaleidoscopic palette of politics and graphic design in the land of Hoosiers.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]

ChatGPT:
[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]

Smith and Doe (2015) conducted a study on the influence of political landscapes on creative industries, and while they didn't specifically investigate the connection between Republican votes for Senators and the number of graphic designers, their findings hinted at the potential for intriguing correlations. They noted that the political climate of a region can significantly impact the types of creative industries that flourish, much like the way a rainy day can make one gravitate towards a cozy book and a warm beverage – or the way election season can make one gravitate towards stress-eating all the leftover Halloween candy.

Jones (2017) delved into the economic impacts of voting patterns on various professions, and although graphic design wasn’t the focus of the study, the research alluded to the idea that political ideologies can have a ripple effect on the labor market. It's as if political beliefs are like a giant game of cultural dominoes, where one ideology can knock over a whole row of career choices, just like a mesmerizing YouTube video of someone setting up a ridiculously long domino chain.

Moving on to non-fiction works, "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman highlights the powerful influence of design in shaping our daily experiences. Perhaps, in the realm of political affiliation, design plays a role in shaping the intangible "everyday things" of our political decisions, like the design of a campaign logo or the layout of a voting ballot.

On a more whimsical note, we come to the fictional realm with "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. While this classic novel delves into the darker aspects of human nature, it also prompts us to ponder the influence of art and aesthetics on our perceptions and behaviors. Much like the enigmatic portrait of Dorian Gray, could political landscapes in Indiana be reflected in the visual arts, manifesting in the number of graphic designers?

Then, as we slip further down the rabbit hole, we arrive at the utterly ridiculous yet surprisingly insightful “Shampoo Bottle Manifesto” by Anonymous. While not a traditional academic source, the back of shampoo bottles can indeed provide some thought-provoking moments during a morning shower. Who’s to say that a eureka moment about the correlation between political votes and graphic designers couldn’t arise while pondering the ingredients of a luxurious conditioner?

Let us now embark on a journey of scholarly exploration, where the serious and the whimsical intertwine like a tangled mass of earphone cables in the depths of a backpack.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a goofy academic researcher writing an academic paper. You follow the rules, but you throw out convention regularly to make jokes and funny asides.You draft the discussion section of an academic research paper.
User prompt:
Pretend you are an academic researcher. Your writing sounds like it belongs in a medical or economics journal. However, you frequently crack jokes, make puns, or add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please make up the discussion section of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and The number of graphic designers in Indiana. Make lots of jokes, goofy observations, and puns. Sneak in some jokes and clever puns about science, research, statistics, and the variables.

Limit your response to 500 tokens.

Here are the title, abstract, literature review, and results sections. Please harken back to 1-2 of the goofy items in the literature review, but pretend to take them completely seriously. Discuss how your results supported the prior research.

Do not write a conclusion. I will add a conclusion after this.

[[TITLE]]
"Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this study, we set out on a whimsical journey to explore the correlation between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. While some may think the two are as distant as oil and watercolor, our research aimed to brush away such skepticism. Utilizing data wizardry from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we unearthed a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209 and p < 0.05 for the years 2003 to 2018. Our findings reveal that the political landscape in Indiana seems to have its own color scheme, one that echoes through the realm of graphic design. So, let us dive deep into this kaleidoscopic venture and explore the curious interplay between politics and the visual arts in the Hoosier state.

[[LITERATURE REVIEW]]
Smith and Doe (2015) conducted a study on the influence of political landscapes on creative industries, and while they didn't specifically investigate the connection between Republican votes for Senators and the number of graphic designers, their findings hinted at the potential for intriguing correlations. They noted that the political climate of a region can significantly impact the types of creative industries that flourish, much like the way a rainy day can make one gravitate towards a cozy book and a warm beverage – or the way election season can make one gravitate towards stress-eating all the leftover Halloween candy.
Jones (2017) delved into the economic impacts of voting patterns on various professions, and although graphic design wasn’t the focus of the study, the research alluded to the idea that political ideologies can have a ripple effect on the labor market. It's as if political beliefs are like a giant game of cultural dominoes, where one ideology can knock over a whole row of career choices, just like a mesmerizing YouTube video of someone setting up a ridiculously long domino chain.
Moving on to non-fiction works, "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman highlights the powerful influence of design in shaping our daily experiences. Perhaps, in the realm of political affiliation, design plays a role in shaping the intangible "everyday things" of our political decisions, like the design of a campaign logo or the layout of a voting ballot.
On a more whimsical note, we come to the fictional realm with "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. While this classic novel delves into the darker aspects of human nature, it also prompts us to ponder the influence of art and aesthetics on our perceptions and behaviors. Much like the enigmatic portrait of Dorian Gray, could political landscapes in Indiana be reflected in the visual arts, manifesting in the number of graphic designers?
Then, as we slip further down the rabbit hole, we arrive at the utterly ridiculous yet surprisingly insightful “Shampoo Bottle Manifesto” by Anonymous. While not a traditional academic source, the back of shampoo bottles can indeed provide some thought-provoking moments during a morning shower. Who’s to say that a eureka moment about the correlation between political votes and graphic designers couldn’t arise while pondering the ingredients of a luxurious conditioner?
Let us now embark on a journey of scholarly exploration, where the serious and the whimsical intertwine like a tangled mass of earphone cables in the depths of a backpack.

[[RESULTS]]
The statistical analyses unveiled a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209, accompanied by an r-squared value of 0.7607692, and a p-value less than 0.05. In other words, it seems that the number of Republican votes for Senators in Indiana is about as closely tied to the number of graphic designers in the state as peanut butter is to jelly. They just seem to go hand in hand, like a perfectly matched color scheme or a well-coordinated outfit.
Our scatterplot (Fig. 1) showcases this robust correlation, with data points resembling a finely crafted mosaic of political and artistic expression. It's as if each data point is a pixel in a larger canvas, painting a picture of the intricate dance between politics and design. The correlation is so strong that it might as well be wearing a neon sign that reads "Look at me, I'm statistically significant!"
So, what does this all mean? Well, it suggests that the political landscape in Indiana and the realm of graphic design are not as isolated from each other as one might assume. One could even say they share a common canvas, with the brush strokes of political preference sweeping across the artistic endeavors of the Hoosier state. It seems that the conservative-liberal spectrum and the creative spectrum might not be as far apart as they appear—perhaps they even complement each other in a way that would make a color theorist giddy.
In conclusion, our findings support the notion that there is a peculiar relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. The Hoosier state, it appears, has a political palette that splashes across the canvas of graphic design, creating a unique blend of colors that captures the essence of the state's political and creative identity. It's a bit like a Jackson Pollock painting—chaotic, yet strangely beautiful in its fusion of divergent elements. So, as we wrap up this exploration, we invite fellow researchers and enthusiasts to join us in contemplating the delightful and unexpected connections that emerge at the intersection of politics and design in the heart of Indiana.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[DISCUSSION]]

ChatGPT:

The results of our study bring to light a colorful tapestry of interconnectedness between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. It seems that the political landscape and the realm of graphic design are not merely distant acquaintances exchanging polite nods from across a crowded room; rather, they are engaged in a lively waltz across the ballroom of Indiana, twirling and dipping in delightful harmony.

Our findings echo the whimsical musings of Smith and Doe (2015), who hinted at the potential correlations between political landscapes and creative industries. While they did not specifically delve into the curious connection we've illuminated, their work laid the groundwork for our exploration of the nuanced relationship between political affiliations and the visual arts. It's as if they left us a trail of breadcrumbs through the forest of academic inquiry, and we gleefully followed it to the treasure trove of statistical significances.

Returning to a more serious note, Jones (2017) indirectly foreshadowed our discoveries by alluding to the notion that political ideologies can influence the labor market. Little did they know that their insights would pave the way for our revelation of the striking synchrony between political votes and the flourishing population of graphic designers in Indiana. It’s like they handed us a compass and said, “Here, wander into the wilderness of research, and you may stumble upon something truly remarkable.” And stumble we did, right into the heart of a statistically significant correlation.

The robust correlation coefficient we uncovered is a bit like finding a perfectly ripe avocado at the grocery store—you didn't expect it, but it's a delightful surprise. The p-value less than 0.05 is like spotting a unicorn in a field of data—rare, magical, and sure to elicit a sense of wonder.

Our scatterplot, akin to a whimsical mural adorning a city wall, visually encapsulates the vibrant relationship we've unraveled. Each data point is like a unique stroke of the brush, coming together to form a cohesive masterpiece of political and artistic resonance. It's as if the data points are engaged in a joyous parade, celebrating their statistical significance with colorful banners and confetti.

In closing, our results support the notion that there is an unexpected and charming connection between political votes and the world of graphic design in Indiana. This discovery invites us to embrace the delightful and unforeseen connections that arise at the intersection of politics and design, much like stumbling upon a hidden garden behind a secret door. We encourage fellow researchers to join us in savoring the whimsy and wonder that emerges from the fusion of statistical evidence and unexpected correlations. After all, in the grand ballroom of academia, it's the unexpected dance partners that often create the most enchanting spectacles.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You are a goofy academic researcher writing an academic paper. You follow the rules, but you throw out convention regularly to make jokes and funny asides.You draft the discussion section of goofy academic research papers that sounds like it belongs based on the title and abstract provided.
User prompt:
Pretend you are an academic researcher. Your writing sounds like it belongs in a medical or economics journal. However, you frequently crack jokes, make puns, or add unexpected twists in your writing.

Please make up a short conclusion of an academic research paper presenting the findings of the connection between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and The number of graphic designers in Indiana. Make lots of jokes, goofy observations, and puns. Sneak in some jokes and clever puns about science, research, statistics, and the variables.

Limit your response to 300 tokens. At the very end, assert that no more research is needed in this area.

Here are the title, abstract, introduction, and results sections.
[[TITLE]]
"Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana"

[[ABSTRACT]]
In this study, we set out on a whimsical journey to explore the correlation between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. While some may think the two are as distant as oil and watercolor, our research aimed to brush away such skepticism. Utilizing data wizardry from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we unearthed a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209 and p < 0.05 for the years 2003 to 2018. Our findings reveal that the political landscape in Indiana seems to have its own color scheme, one that echoes through the realm of graphic design. So, let us dive deep into this kaleidoscopic venture and explore the curious interplay between politics and the visual arts in the Hoosier state.

[[INTRDUCTION]]
As the old saying goes, "In politics, as in art, it is impossible to get a pure blue out of what has primarily a yellow content.” (Eugene Delacroix, probably not talking about political parties, but humor me here.) In the realm of politics, Indiana stands out like a Jackson Pollock painting at a formal dinner party, with its vibrant hues of red and blue splattered across the electoral canvas. On the other hand, the world of graphic design is a colorful, whimsical wonderland where creativity knows no bounds, much like a Dr. Seuss illustration on a caffeine high.
In this study, we embarked on a quest to delve into the cryptic connection between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. Like scientists wielding beakers and test tubes, we carefully concocted a concoction of data from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and the whimsically named Bureau of Labor Statistics. With our research wands, we cast spells and conjured up a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209, much to the amazement of our peers and the chagrin of any naysayers.
“I’m sorry, did I hear that right? You’re trying to correlate Republican votes with graphic designers? Are you sure you didn’t mix up your data with a surrealist fever dream?” Yes, dear skeptic, we are well aware of the eyebrow-raising nature of our variables. But fear not, for we have not lost our scientific marbles. Our findings are as robust as Einstein's mustache, and our statistical analyses are as precise as a neurosurgeon's scalpel. Lo and behold, we discovered a p-value of less than 0.05, signaling a relationship as real as a Picasso painting… and definitely not a forgery.
So, come, dear reader, let us traverse this whimsical wonderland of statistical analysis and political peculiarities. Join us as we unravel the mystery behind the kaleidoscopic palette of politics and graphic design in the land of Hoosiers.

[[RESULTS]]
The statistical analyses unveiled a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209, accompanied by an r-squared value of 0.7607692, and a p-value less than 0.05. In other words, it seems that the number of Republican votes for Senators in Indiana is about as closely tied to the number of graphic designers in the state as peanut butter is to jelly. They just seem to go hand in hand, like a perfectly matched color scheme or a well-coordinated outfit.
Our scatterplot (Fig. 1) showcases this robust correlation, with data points resembling a finely crafted mosaic of political and artistic expression. It's as if each data point is a pixel in a larger canvas, painting a picture of the intricate dance between politics and design. The correlation is so strong that it might as well be wearing a neon sign that reads "Look at me, I'm statistically significant!"
So, what does this all mean? Well, it suggests that the political landscape in Indiana and the realm of graphic design are not as isolated from each other as one might assume. One could even say they share a common canvas, with the brush strokes of political preference sweeping across the artistic endeavors of the Hoosier state. It seems that the conservative-liberal spectrum and the creative spectrum might not be as far apart as they appear—perhaps they even complement each other in a way that would make a color theorist giddy.
In conclusion, our findings support the notion that there is a peculiar relationship between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. The Hoosier state, it appears, has a political palette that splashes across the canvas of graphic design, creating a unique blend of colors that captures the essence of the state's political and creative identity. It's a bit like a Jackson Pollock painting—chaotic, yet strangely beautiful in its fusion of divergent elements. So, as we wrap up this exploration, we invite fellow researchers and enthusiasts to join us in contemplating the delightful and unexpected connections that emerge at the intersection of politics and design in the heart of Indiana.

-------

Your response should start like this:

[[CONCLUSION]]

ChatGPT:

[[CONCLUSION]]

In the dazzling world of statistical analysis, where numbers dance like overly enthusiastic ballerinas and correlations prance around like excitable puppies, our findings add a splash of color to the rather serious canvas of political and artistic inquiry. We've shown that the Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state are as entwined as a pair of matched socks—separated too far and things just start feeling off. Our results paint a picture of a harmonious relationship, akin to a well-choreographed ballet duet or a perfectly synchronized swim routine at the Olympics.

With a correlation coefficient as strong as Hercules and an r-squared value as robust as a tank, our data has more connections than a chatty socialite at a networking event. And let's not forget the p-value, which winks at us from beneath its statistical umbrella, whispering, "I'm significant, darlings. Pay attention to me!"

As we bid adieu to this colorful escapade through the Hoosier state's political palette, we do so with a sense of whimsy and wonder. Our results may raise a few eyebrows, but that's what happens when you mix politics and graphic design—there's a certain flair, an unexpected elegance that emerges from their peculiar tango.

In closing, we assert with the certainty of a scientist in a lab full of bubbling beakers: no further research is required in this particular alley of inquiry. The brushstrokes of Republican votes and the hues of graphic designers have intertwined in a delightful dance, leaving us with a canvas that sparkles with the magic of statistical fascination and quirky correlations. Let this be a reminder that behind every seemingly unrelated variable, there may just be a connection waiting to be discovered, no matter how strange or whimsical it may appear at first glance.

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You provide fictional names of academic journals. You say nothing else, and you do not chat with the user.
User prompt: Please provide the name of a funny but plausible sounding research, scientific, or academic journal that would publish a paper entited Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana. Respond only with the name of a fictional academic journal.

ChatGPT:

The Journal of Visual Persuasion Studies

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You provide fictional names of nonprofit research organizations and associations. You say nothing else, and you do not chat with the user.
User prompt: Please provide the name of a funny but plausible sounding nonprofit, academic, or scientific association or organization that would sponsor research that resulted in a paper entited Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana. Respond only with the name of a fictional organization.

ChatGPT:

The Center for Visual Communication Research

Model: gpt-3.5-turbo-1106
System prompt: You provide potential search keywords separated by commas. You say nothing else, and you do not chat with the user.
User prompt: Please provide potential search keywords for a paper titled Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana with an abstract of In this study, we set out on a whimsical journey to explore the correlation between Republican votes for Senators in Indiana and the number of graphic designers in the state. While some may think the two are as distant as oil and watercolor, our research aimed to brush away such skepticism. Utilizing data wizardry from MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we unearthed a correlation coefficient of 0.8722209 and p < 0.05 for the years 2003 to 2018. Our findings reveal that the political landscape in Indiana seems to have its own color scheme, one that echoes through the realm of graphic design. So, let us dive deep into this kaleidoscopic venture and explore the curious interplay between politics and the visual arts in the Hoosier state.

ChatGPT:

"graphic designers Indiana," "Republican votes Indiana," "correlation political landscape graphic design," "MIT Election Data and Science Lab," "Harvard Dataverse," "Bureau of Labor Statistics," "correlation coefficient 0.8722209," "political color scheme Indiana," "politics visual arts Indiana"

*There is a bunch of Python happening behind the scenes to turn this prompt sequence into a PDF.

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Data details

Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana
Detailed data title: Total number of votes cast for Federal Republican Senate candidates in Indiana
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Harvard Dataverse
See what else correlates with Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana

The number of graphic designers in Indiana
Detailed data title: BLS estimate of graphic designers in Indiana
Source: Bureau of Larbor Statistics
See what else correlates with The number of graphic designers in Indiana

Correlation r = 0.8722209 (Pearson correlation coefficient)
Correlation is a measure of how much the variables move together. If it is 0.99, when one goes up the other goes up. If it is 0.02, the connection is very weak or non-existent. If it is -0.99, then when one goes up the other goes down. If it is 1.00, you probably messed up your correlation function.

r² = 0.7607692 (Coefficient of determination)
This means 76.1% of the change in the one variable (i.e., The number of graphic designers in Indiana) is predictable based on the change in the other (i.e., Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana) over the 6 years from 2003 through 2018.

p < 0.05, which statistically significant(Null hypothesis significance test)
The p-value is 0.023.^Show 0.0234481032274630740000000000
The p-value is a measure of how probable it is that we would randomly find a result this extreme.^Note More specifically the p-value is a measure of how probable it is that we would randomly find a result this extreme if we had only tested one pair of variables one time.

But I am a p-villain. I absolutely did not test only one pair of variables one time. I correlated hundreds of millions of pairs of variables. I threw boatloads of data into an industrial-sized blender to find this correlation.

Who is going to stop me? p-value reporting doesn't require me to report how many calculations I had to go through in order to find a low p-value!
On average, you will find a correaltion as strong as 0.87 in 2.3% of random cases. Said differently, if you correlated 43 random variables^Note Which I absolutely did.
with the same 5 degrees of freedom, ^Note Degrees of freedom is a measure of how many free components we are testing. In this case it is 5 because we have two variables measured over a period of 6 years. It's just the number of years minus ( the number of variables minus one ), which in this case simplifies to the number of years minus one.
you would randomly expect to find a correlation as strong as this one.

[ 0.21, 0.99 ] 95% correlation confidence interval (using the Fisher z-transformation)
^{Read more about the confidence interval} The confidence interval is an estimate the range of the value of the correlation coefficient, using the correlation itself as an input. The values are meant to be the low and high end of the correlation coefficient with 95% confidence.

This one is a bit more complciated than the other calculations, but I include it because many people have been pushing for confidence intervals instead of p-value calculations (for example: NEJM. However, if you are dredging data, you can reliably find yourself in the 5%. That's my goal!

All values for the years included above: ^Note If I were being very sneaky, I could trim years from the beginning or end of the datasets to increase the correlation on some pairs of variables. I don't do that because there are already plenty of correlations in my database without monkeying with the years.

Still, sometimes one of the variables has more years of data available than the other. This page only shows the overlapping years. To see all the years, click on "See what else correlates with..." link above.

	2004	2006	2010	2012	2016	2018
Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana (Total votes)	903913	1171550	952116	1133620	1423990	1158000
The number of graphic designers in Indiana (Graphic Designers)	2620	3250	3170	3120	4030	3740

Why this works

Data dredging: I have 25,237 variables in my database. I compare all these variables against each other to find ones that randomly match up. That's 636,906,169 correlation calculations! This is called “data dredging.” Instead of starting with a hypothesis and testing it, I instead abused the data to see what correlations shake out. It’s a dangerous way to go about analysis, because any sufficiently large dataset will yield strong correlations completely at random.
Lack of causal connection: There is probably^Note Because these pages are automatically generated, it's possible that the two variables you are viewing are in fact causually related. I take steps to prevent the obvious ones from showing on the site (I don't let data about the weather in one city correlate with the weather in a neighboring city, for example), but sometimes they still pop up. If they are related, cool! You found a loophole.
no direct connection between these variables, despite what the AI says above. This is exacerbated by the fact that I used "Years" as the base variable. Lots of things happen in a year that are not related to each other! Most studies would use something like "one person" in stead of "one year" to be the "thing" studied.
Observations not independent: For many variables, sequential years are not independent of each other. If a population of people is continuously doing something every day, there is no reason to think they would suddenly change how they are doing that thing on January 1. A simple^Note Personally I don't find any p-value calculation to be 'simple,' but you know what I mean.
p-value calculation does not take this into account, so mathematically it appears less probable than it really is.
Very low n: There are not many data points included in this analysis. Even if the p-value is high, we should be suspicious of using so few datapoints in a correlation.

Try it yourself

You can calculate the values on this page on your own! Try running the Python code to see the calculation results. ^{Show the steps to do this.} Step 1: Download and install Python on your computer.

Step 2: Open a plaintext editor like Notepad and paste the code below into it.

Step 3: Save the file as "calculate_correlation.py" in a place you will remember, like your desktop. Copy the file location to your clipboard. On Windows, you can right-click the file and click "Properties," and then copy what comes after "Location:" As an example, on my computer the location is "C:\Users\tyler\Desktop"

Step 4: Open a command line window. For example, by pressing start and typing "cmd" and them pressing enter.

Step 5: Install the required modules by typing "pip install numpy", then pressing enter, then typing "pip install scipy", then pressing enter.

Step 6: Navigate to the location where you saved the Python file by using the "cd" command. For example, I would type "cd C:\Users\tyler\Desktop" and push enter.

Step 7: Run the Python script by typing "python calculate_correlation.py"

If you run into any issues, I suggest asking ChatGPT to walk you through installing Python and running the code below on your system. Try this question:

"Walk me through installing Python on my computer to run a script that uses scipy and numpy. Go step-by-step and ask me to confirm before moving on. Start by asking me questions about my operating system so that you know how to proceed. Assume I want the simplest installation with the latest version of Python and that I do not currently have any of the necessary elements installed. Remember to only give me one step per response and confirm I have done it before proceeding."

# These modules make it easier to perform the calculation
import numpy as np
from scipy import stats

# We'll define a function that we can call to return the correlation calculations
def calculate_correlation(array1, array2):

    # Calculate Pearson correlation coefficient and p-value
    correlation, p_value = stats.pearsonr(array1, array2)

    # Calculate R-squared as the square of the correlation coefficient
    r_squared = correlation**2

    return correlation, r_squared, p_value

# These are the arrays for the variables shown on this page, but you can modify them to be any two sets of numbers
array_1 = np.array([903913,1171550,952116,1133620,1423990,1158000,])
array_2 = np.array([2620,3250,3170,3120,4030,3740,])
array_1_name = "Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana"
array_2_name = "The number of graphic designers in Indiana"

# Perform the calculation
print(f"Calculating the correlation between {array_1_name} and {array_2_name}...")
correlation, r_squared, p_value = calculate_correlation(array_1, array_2)

# Print the results
print("Correlation Coefficient:", correlation)
print("R-squared:", r_squared)
print("P-value:", p_value)

Reuseable content

You may re-use the images on this page for any purpose, even commercial purposes, without asking for permission. The only requirement is that you attribute Tyler Vigen. ^Note Attribution can take many different forms. If you leave the "tylervigen.com" link in the image, that satisfies it just fine. If you remove it and move it to a footnote, that's fine too. You can also just write "Charts courtesy of Tyler Vigen" at the bottom of an article.

You do not need to attribute "the spurious correlations website," and you don't even need to link here if you don't want to. I don't gain anything from pageviews. There are no ads on this site, there is nothing for sale, and I am not for hire.

For the record, I am just one person. Tyler Vigen, he/him/his. I do have degrees, but they should not go after my name unless you want to annoy my wife. If that is your goal, then go ahead and cite me as "Tyler Vigen, A.A. A.A.S. B.A. J.D." Otherwise it is just "Tyler Vigen."

When spoken, my last name is pronounced "vegan," like I don't eat meat.

Full license details.
For more on re-use permissions, or to get a signed release form, see tylervigen.com/permission.

Download images for these variables:

High resolution line chart ^Note The image linked here is a Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG). It is the highest resolution that is possible to achieve. It scales up beyond the size of the observable universe without pixelating. You do not need to email me asking if I have a higher resolution image. I do not. The physical limitations of our universe prevent me from providing you with an image that is any higher resolution than this one.

If you insert it into a PowerPoint presentation (a tool well-known for managing things that are the scale of the universe), you can right-click > "Ungroup" or "Create Shape" and then edit the lines and text directly. You can also change the colors this way.

Alternatively you can use a tool like Inkscape.
High resolution line chart, optimized for mobile
Alternative high resolution line chart
Scatterplot
Portable line chart (png)
Portable line chart (png), optimized for mobile
Line chart for only Votes for Republican Senators in Indiana
Line chart for only The number of graphic designers in Indiana
AI-generated correlation image
The spurious research paper: Graphic Votes: The Political Palette of Graphic Designers in Indiana

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Correlation ID: 5683 · Black Variable ID: 26236 · Red Variable ID: 7656


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