Exploring the fun (and funny!) side of data analytics

Published: March 16, 2024

Microphone at a Comedy Show or Music Performance Show on Stage Entertainment

Today’s guest is going to help us explore the fun side of data analytics! Evan Wimpey is not only an analytics professional with Elder Research but is also a stand-up comedian! After spending years analyzing data and delivering statistical models, Evan realized that humor is often the most effective way to make dry or technical topics more accessible … and more fun! Now in addition to his analytics day job, he performs data science comedy at conferences and events around the world, to include the upcoming 2024 INFORMS Analytics Conference, April 14-16 in Orlando, FL.

We’ve got really smart people that I work with that build these really great tools that help people make decisions and it’s still hard to get people to use them, and it’s still hard to get people to engage in analytics and want to change the way they do things. Just like people remember more news from the Colbert Report than they do from CNN, people remember some laughs and some jokes and if we can make things a little more fun than it can drive the more serious part of our work.

Interviewed this episode:

Evan Wimpey

Elder Research

Evan Wimpey is an analytics professional and stand-up comedian. Yes, dreams really do come true! With a background in statistics and economics, Evan has spent years analyzing data and delivering statistical models. Since the topic can be quite dry and technical, Evan has realized that humor is often the most effective way to make analytics more accessible…or at least the most fun way. He performs data science comedy at conferences and events around the world. With his book, Predictable Jokes, Evan hopes to continue sharing laughs and making analytics available to all.