Mitt Romney’s campaign put out a set of graphics illustrating a “gap” between what Obama promised and what he has delivered.  The graphic is in the form of a Venn diagram, a visual designed to show the overlap between two conditions.  For an example, see this platypus playing a keytar.

Unfortunately, Romney’s overlapping circles are not Venn diagrams, making the campaign somewhat ridiculous and giving nerdy liberals all over America a good chuckle.

So, there you have it, an example of how not to use Venn diagrams to illustrate your data.

Via Feministing and Dolores R.

Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.