https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Devuxer 2026-05-23T17:21:08Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2023:_Y-Axis&diff=160423 2018-07-23T20:36:14Z

<p>Devuxer: Attempted to simplify the description of what the comic is poking fun at and clarified that the wavy gray lines are in fact gridlines, not data (which I didn't realize when first viewing the comic).</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 2023<br /> | date = July 23, 2018<br /> | title = Y-Axis<br /> | image = y_axis.png<br /> | titletext = We've also developed the semi-semi-log scale, where the Y-axis for the left half of the graph is a log scale but on the right half it isn't.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|Created by a MISLEADING GRAPH - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> The comic itself makes a poke at recent trends where the y range for a given dataset is exaggerated, so that a dataset that varies very little in its y-values is exaggerated by constricting the y-axis of the graph to range from just barely below the minimum y-value to just barely above the maximum y-value. This spreads out the y-values so very small differences appear larger and more significant than they really are.<br /> <br /> The graph shows an attempt to mislead readers by manipulating the y-axis scale of the graph in a creative manner: The y-axis labels at the left side of the graph are normally spaced; however, the thin, gray gridlines marking each 10% increment are wavy, not straight, and they bunch up before reaching the first data point, resulting in a distorted effective y-axis for the rest of the graph. All the data points lie between the 10% and 20% gridlines, but a casual reader may not notice this and think that the graph uses the full 0% to 100% range.<br /> <br /> The title text is related to the {{w|Semi-log plot}}, where one of the two axes is plotted on a logarithmic scale. The title text takes this to a further extreme with the semi-semi-log, where only part of the axis is plotted on a logarithmic scale.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br /> <br /> :[Caption below the frame:]<br /> :People have wised up to the &quot;Carefully Chosen Y-Axis Range&quot; trick, so we misleading graph makers have had to get creative.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

Devuxer