John Venn popularized the diagram we associate with his name, but he did not invent it. It was likely used at least a century before him, and probably long before that by anyone with a stick, a plan, and some dirt. And he most certainly didn’t call them “Venn diagrams” while he was alive, which would have been a pretty egotistical thing to do. “You know what would explain this? A ‘Me’ diagram.” They are related to a way of describing data sets called Euler diagrams, who are named after a guy named Euler who probably didn’t call them “Euler diagrams”. John Venn actually called his “Euler circles”. Each of these diagrams have a simple definition: A set of closed curves drawn in a plane (like on paper) whose spatial representation shows you how their data relate. They are a stunningly simple way to explain logical relationships using geometry, actually. If the circles are too hard for you to draw, you could always opt for the deluxe five-ellipse edition: And who says that freehand circles are impossible to sketch? There’s a whole world championship for that, featuring guys like this:
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John Venn popularized the diagram we associate with his name, but he did not invent it. It was likely used at least a century before him, and probably long before that by anyone with a stick, a plan, and some dirt. And he most certainly didn’t call them “Venn diagrams” while he was alive, which would have been a pretty egotistical thing to do.

“You know what would explain this? A ‘Me’ diagram.”

They are related to a way of describing data sets called Euler diagrams, who are named after a guy named Euler who probably didn’t call them “Euler diagrams”. John Venn actually called his “Euler circles”. Each of these diagrams have a simple definition: A set of closed curves drawn in a plane (like on paper) whose spatial representation shows you how their data relate. They are a stunningly simple way to explain logical relationships using geometry, actually.

If the circles are too hard for you to draw, you could always opt for the deluxe five-ellipse edition:

And who says that freehand circles are impossible to sketch? There’s a whole world championship for that, featuring guys like this:

69 Notes/ Hide

  1. walnuthulls reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  2. multidimensionalxwavelength reblogged this from scishow
  3. pureferret reblogged this from scishow
  4. feminist-physicist reblogged this from scishow and added:
    Reblogging because the five-ellipse diagram is made of awesome.
  5. havingastrangeinterlude reblogged this from scishow
  6. origamipeople reblogged this from scishow
  7. fractalsaurus reblogged this from jakethepirate
  8. typicallymessy reblogged this from scishow
  9. jakethepirate reblogged this from scishow and added:
    Reblog purely for the 5 way Venn Diagram, I knew how to do 4 ones, they’re easy but I never knew you could do five in 2D...
  10. mirehi reblogged this from scishow
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  14. zachsmind reblogged this from scishow and added:
    I think I’ve been calling them “Vinn Diagrams” incorrectly all this time, so I’ve never attributed them to John Venn.
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