Circular graphics —pie charts, comparisons based on bubbles, spider charts, and the sort— have their space in information graphics, but they are so often misused that it has become a sport for experts to criticize the most egregious examples of wrongdoing (see a summary here) with wit and humor. I sympathize with the view advanced in those articles, in general, with just a few exceptions: in the The Functional Art DVD (you'll get it with the book), I praise this circular plot by The Guardian for very specific reasons. Stephen Few would not approve; see his classic "Our Irresistible Fascination with All Things Circular."
Anyway, I am getting to the point. See how people sometimes make fun of my distaste for pie charts: In September 2011, my friend Matt Perry, head of infographics at the San Diego Union-Tribune, published this picture on Twitter; its caption was "Donut social time in the graphics department."
It was a slow Friday for me, so I replied, tongue-in-cheek:
Here's Matt again:
And here's me, trying to sound smart:
Only to be effortlessly outwitted by Matt:
Who attached this graphic to his tweet. He produced it in five or ten minutes. I am using it in The Functional Art DVD, by the way. How could I leave it aside? It's so funny: