Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Simplifying complex ideas through fun and insightful sketches. Explore topics from science, creativity, psychology, and more explained in pictures.

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Recent sketches

Chesterton's fence

Chesterton's fence put simply is: Don't take a fence down unless you know why it was put up. It is tempting, in a spirit of progress, to want to do away with old designs, laws, policies, or institutions that no longer help. To think, perhaps, that the people that made them weren't maybe as smart as we are, or seeing things in the right way. Yet institutions, policies, or fences, weren't usually made by accident — they require effort and action, even putting up a fence. Chesterton's fence, after GK Chesterton, is a reminder that before we remove the old and perhaps replace it with the new we would do well to at least understand why the original was put in place. Once we understand why the fence was there in the first place if we still think it's of no use, then by all means pull it down. Read more on Chesterton's fence, including its origins.…Chesterton's fence put simply is: Don't take a fence down unless you know why it was put up. It is tempting, in a spirit of progress, to want to do away with old designs, laws, policies, or institutions that no longer help. To think, perhaps, that the people that made them weren't maybe as smart as we are, or seeing things in the right way. Yet institutions, policies, or fences, weren't usually made by accident — they require effort and action, even putting up a fence. Chesterton's fence, after GK Chesterton, is a reminder that before we remove the old and perhaps replace it with the new we would do well to at least understand why the original was put in place. Once we understand why the fence was there in the first place if we still think it's of no use, then by all means pull it down. Read more on Chesterton's fence, including its origins.

3 Apr 2022

Correlation is not causation

When we notice two things change with each other — sunny days and ice cream sales, or player height and goals scored — it's natural to think that one thing is the cause of the other. And it's only a small step to consider that if you do more of one, you'll get more of the other. But this instinct and our natural sense-making behaviours can easily lead us astray. Just because two things change together — are correlated — doesn't mean that one causes the other: correlation is not causation. You might reasonably notice a correlation between the number of children in a household and the number of storks nests on the roof of houses in Denmark or Holland. Fortunately, while the two may be correlated it's not hard to see that it's most likely not the storks that are causing the larger families and instead another factor such as the size of the house that is the more likely cause. As such it's a handy reminder that correlation is not causation. This is also the subject of my favourite xkcd on correlation, and another on cell phones to drive the point home. For more see the excellent spurious correlations. The stork nest example is from Darrel Huff's How to Lie with Statistics, as is the example on Sampling Bias.…When we notice two things change with each other — sunny days and ice cream sales, or player height and goals scored — it's natural to think that one thing is the cause of the other. And it's only a small step to consider that if you do more of one, you'll get more of the other. But this instinct and our natural sense-making behaviours can easily lead us astray. Just because two things change together — are correlated — doesn't mean that one causes the other: correlation is not causation. You might reasonably notice a correlation between the number of children in a household and the number of storks nests on the roof of houses in Denmark or Holland. Fortunately, while the two may be correlated it's not hard to see that it's most likely not the storks that are causing the larger families and instead another factor such as the size of the house that is the more likely cause. As such it's a handy reminder that correlation is not causation. This is also the subject of my favourite xkcd on correlation, and another on cell phones to drive the point home. For more see the excellent spurious correlations. The stork nest example is from Darrel Huff's How to Lie with Statistics, as is the example on Sampling Bias.

27 Mar 2022

Short words are best

Whenever I find that I've accidentally written 'proceed' instead of 'carry on', 'affirmative' instead of 'yes', or 'convene' instead of 'meet' I try to remember Churchill's wise words: "Short words are best and old words when short are the best of all." Don't be like owl in Winnie the Pooh. Short, old words give power and clarity. As an illustration of the remarkable power of Churchill's writing, I highly recommend the quick read of We Will All Go Down Fighting to the End, an eye-opening and stirring short collection of Winston Churchill's war speeches.…Whenever I find that I've accidentally written 'proceed' instead of 'carry on', 'affirmative' instead of 'yes', or 'convene' instead of 'meet' I try to remember Churchill's wise words: "Short words are best and old words when short are the best of all." Don't be like owl in Winnie the Pooh. Short, old words give power and clarity. As an illustration of the remarkable power of Churchill's writing, I highly recommend the quick read of We Will All Go Down Fighting to the End, an eye-opening and stirring short collection of Winston Churchill's war speeches.

20 Mar 2022

For want of a nail

An ode to the importance of little things. This classic poem memorably paints a picture of how small details can matter, and how small changes can make a difference. Taking that extra bit of care, adding that extra bit of polish, helping that person when you had nothing to gain, showing up with generosity — all small actions that through their effect on others can, ultimately, have a large impact. This same idea also applies to how we choose to spend our money and our time through contagious commerce — from Seth Godin: Early adopters change the world. While one person choosing not to eat meat will have a small impact on our climate, it will have a much bigger impact on the restaurants, groceries and food suppliers who notice what you’re doing. They’ll change what they offer, and that will lead to a multiplier effect of other people changing their habits. Buying an electric car or installing solar before they’re the obvious economic choice has the same impact. Because once marketers and investors discover that there’s a significant group that likes to go first, they’re far more likely to invest the time and energy to improve what’s already there... ...Very few people have the leverage to change the world. But all of us have the chance to change the people around us, and those actions change what gets built, funded and launched. --- For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for want of a nail.…An ode to the importance of little things. This classic poem memorably paints a picture of how small details can matter, and how small changes can make a difference. Taking that extra bit of care, adding that extra bit of polish, helping that person when you had nothing to gain, showing up with generosity — all small actions that through their effect on others can, ultimately, have a large impact. This same idea also applies to how we choose to spend our money and our time through contagious commerce — from Seth Godin: Early adopters change the world. While one person choosing not to eat meat will have a small impact on our climate, it will have a much bigger impact on the restaurants, groceries and food suppliers who notice what you’re doing. They’ll change what they offer, and that will lead to a multiplier effect of other people changing their habits. Buying an electric car or installing solar before they’re the obvious economic choice has the same impact. Because once marketers and investors discover that there’s a significant group that likes to go first, they’re far more likely to invest the time and energy to improve what’s already there... ...Very few people have the leverage to change the world. But all of us have the chance to change the people around us, and those actions change what gets built, funded and launched. --- For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for want of a nail.

13 Mar 2022

Möbius strip

Möbius strip: the mindbending shape with only one side. It's very simple to create: take a long piece of paper, give one end a 180-degree twist and then stick the ends together. The simple shape just created has only one side. What?? You can test this by running your finger over the surface and you'll cover the entire shape and end up back where you started. Try to follow the red ball in the animation as it follows the surface over the entire loop. Möbius strips have a couple of other interesting properties including how cutting them in half down the middle simply makes a longer loop, and cutting a third of the way in over the full length will reveal two distinct yet interconnected loops. Fun to try! I once spent a memorable evening with a friend trying to feed a Möbius strip through a regular printer to see if we could print on both sides in one go. In case it's handy, here's a static Möbius strip sketch…Möbius strip: the mindbending shape with only one side. It's very simple to create: take a long piece of paper, give one end a 180-degree twist and then stick the ends together. The simple shape just created has only one side. What?? You can test this by running your finger over the surface and you'll cover the entire shape and end up back where you started. Try to follow the red ball in the animation as it follows the surface over the entire loop. Möbius strips have a couple of other interesting properties including how cutting them in half down the middle simply makes a longer loop, and cutting a third of the way in over the full length will reveal two distinct yet interconnected loops. Fun to try! I once spent a memorable evening with a friend trying to feed a Möbius strip through a regular printer to see if we could print on both sides in one go. In case it's handy, here's a static Möbius strip sketch

6 Mar 2022

Don't fill the silence

It's easy to want to fill an awkward silence. Often, however, a pause in conversation is time people need to think. When conducting research, and maybe just in normal conversations, try to trust the questions that you ask and avoid filling the silence after asking a question. Just wait and listen. My experience is that it's very easy to follow a nice open-ended question such as "How do you feel about it now?" with all sorts of qualifications or assumptions because a silence feels uncomfortable. It can quickly become, "How do you feel about it now?...I guess it must have been hard for you, right?" And instead of giving someone space to share a thoughtful answer of your open-ended question all you might get is a "Yes" and perhaps your chance of finding out what they really thought has gone. Instead, have faith in what you ask and stick out the silence. Also see: prefer open-ended questions, some social research tips…It's easy to want to fill an awkward silence. Often, however, a pause in conversation is time people need to think. When conducting research, and maybe just in normal conversations, try to trust the questions that you ask and avoid filling the silence after asking a question. Just wait and listen. My experience is that it's very easy to follow a nice open-ended question such as "How do you feel about it now?" with all sorts of qualifications or assumptions because a silence feels uncomfortable. It can quickly become, "How do you feel about it now?...I guess it must have been hard for you, right?" And instead of giving someone space to share a thoughtful answer of your open-ended question all you might get is a "Yes" and perhaps your chance of finding out what they really thought has gone. Instead, have faith in what you ask and stick out the silence. Also see: prefer open-ended questions, some social research tips

27 Feb 2022

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