Introduction

Growing up in Chicago, there were a few times that I had fevers. The fevers were particularly bad when it was cold outside because my body couldn’t stop shaking due to the abnormal temperature imbalance between me and the air. However, I don’t think I ever had anything as bad as the fever I have now. It’s called Tableau Fever (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – My body temperature as a function of time. This is proof that I’ve been stricken by Tableau Fever.

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I don’t know if you have heard of it or not, but once you get it, it is hard to get rid of. You find yourself thinking about it and dealing with it all the time. When you see data, you think Tableau. When you see ugly charts that need revision, you think Tableau (Edit on 7/26/18 – Hmm, did Andy Kriebel get the idea for Makeover Monday from this sentence?). When you see great data that needs to be expressed visually, you think Tableau.

Diagnosing Tableau Fever

The only accurate clinical diagnosis is the following. If you track your usage of Tableau like I have done here (Figure 2), you definitely have Tableau Fever!

Figure 2 – My Tableau usage between 2008 – 2013.

The primary problem with Tableau Fever is that it lasts for years! Once you catch it, it won’t go away.

Treating and Avoiding Tableau Fever

When you catch the fever, you will find yourself dealing with it every day as you wait for the next version of Tableau to invade your body. The only way to make yourself feel better is to find some data and visualize it with Tableau. The satisfaction you get from this visualization activity alleviates the symptoms for a while until the next wave of fever hits.

You will have to trust me on this one, there is no treatment other than working in Tableau. If you find yourself in an infinite loop of using Tableau and then charting your usage of Tableau, just understand you have been stricken and hope that you’ll recover soon.

This fever is like a pandemic spreading around the earth. The only remaining question is whether it peaks and then decays, or whether it continues to grow. Since I’m on an exponentially rising curve of body temperature caused by Tableau Fever (Figure 1), I don’t have the answer for you at this time.

However, I can give you some sage advice. To avoid Tableau Fever, don’t download the free public version and never try the desktop software! If you do, you will be infected with the Fever. Good luck to you if you choose to take the chance of catching the Fever!