R squared Memes

Statisticians everywhere are feeling personally attacked right now! The left panel shows a classic example of a terrible linear regression with an R² value of 0.06 (meaning only 6% of the variation is explained by the model). Meanwhile, the right panel reveals that connecting random dots to form "Rexthor, the Dog-Bearer" is somehow more meaningful than forcing that sad excuse for a trendline. This brilliantly skewers how researchers sometimes torture data until it confesses to relationships that aren't really there. When your correlation is this weak, you might as well be playing celestial connect-the-dots and claiming you've discovered a new constellation!