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.

A weekly sketch by email

Learn something new in a sketch each Sunday

Recent sketches

Chindogu

Chindogu are inventions that are not really useful yet are not completely without use. They make sense, but you’d never use them. They are also, as a result, often really funny. This chindogu article gives some great examples while also sharing the 10 tenets of what makes chindogu, chindogu. Things like: there must be the spirit of anarchy — they represent freedom of thought and action. And they must exist — just the idea isn’t enough; they must be made. Apparently, the selfie stick was invented as chindogu but failed as people evidently actually found it useful — though you can still see why it might have started as chindogu. Also see: affordance, forcing function, and more genius from the Japanese: Tsundoku…Chindogu are inventions that are not really useful yet are not completely without use. They make sense, but you’d never use them. They are also, as a result, often really funny. This chindogu article gives some great examples while also sharing the 10 tenets of what makes chindogu, chindogu. Things like: there must be the spirit of anarchy — they represent freedom of thought and action. And they must exist — just the idea isn’t enough; they must be made. Apparently, the selfie stick was invented as chindogu but failed as people evidently actually found it useful — though you can still see why it might have started as chindogu. Also see: affordance, forcing function, and more genius from the Japanese: Tsundoku

7 Mar 2020

How to wash your hands

In these times, and to be honest, most times, washing your hands well is one of the very best things you can do to keep yourself healthy and free from infections. You should use soap if you have it; it should take about 20s, and if you follow these steps, you’ll cover pretty much all of the different parts of your hands. In standard, cursory handwashing, it’s very easy to miss what ought to be obvious places to clean, like your fingertips. Then, try to avoid touching taps and door handles on your way out of public places. I find doing these steps takes about 20s, but to make sure you could also try singing a song segment you like. NPR has some suggestions: Keep flu at bay with a song. Some other hygiene sketches to bear in mind: Sneezes and coughs are powerful things — a sneeze can travel up to 8m. So always make sure you do your… Dracula sneeze Dry your hands with only one towel And as a basic rule…pour don’t dip when sharing snacks The handwashing guidance is from the wonderful NHS.…In these times, and to be honest, most times, washing your hands well is one of the very best things you can do to keep yourself healthy and free from infections. You should use soap if you have it; it should take about 20s, and if you follow these steps, you’ll cover pretty much all of the different parts of your hands. In standard, cursory handwashing, it’s very easy to miss what ought to be obvious places to clean, like your fingertips. Then, try to avoid touching taps and door handles on your way out of public places. I find doing these steps takes about 20s, but to make sure you could also try singing a song segment you like. NPR has some suggestions: Keep flu at bay with a song. Some other hygiene sketches to bear in mind: Sneezes and coughs are powerful things — a sneeze can travel up to 8m. So always make sure you do your… Dracula sneeze Dry your hands with only one towel And as a basic rule…pour don’t dip when sharing snacks The handwashing guidance is from the wonderful NHS.

29 Feb 2020

Types of phishing

Phishing is tricking people into sharing personal details and logins by pretending to be someone else, and it's surprisingly effective. Some of the smartest people I know have been taken in by it and it only takes a moment’s lapse in concentration or uncertainty to fall for it. The maths is simple: it barely costs anything to send an email to 100,000s of people and it only needs a few people to get caught in the net for it to pay off. Also, look out for targeted spear-phishing attacks where scammers may seem to know specific details about yourself to make the attack more credible. Or what’s known as whaling — the targeting of high-profile figures such has heads of companies or celebrities with elaborately planned and sometimes very convincing schemes. Stay vigilant people. You can also check if you’ve been caught in a data breach at: Have I been Pwned. I updated this image for my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Also see: 2-factor authentication…Phishing is tricking people into sharing personal details and logins by pretending to be someone else, and it's surprisingly effective. Some of the smartest people I know have been taken in by it and it only takes a moment’s lapse in concentration or uncertainty to fall for it. The maths is simple: it barely costs anything to send an email to 100,000s of people and it only needs a few people to get caught in the net for it to pay off. Also, look out for targeted spear-phishing attacks where scammers may seem to know specific details about yourself to make the attack more credible. Or what’s known as whaling — the targeting of high-profile figures such has heads of companies or celebrities with elaborately planned and sometimes very convincing schemes. Stay vigilant people. You can also check if you’ve been caught in a data breach at: Have I been Pwned. I updated this image for my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Also see: 2-factor authentication

23 Feb 2020

The dangers of just this once

Clayton Christensen, in his book and article ’How will you measure your life?’, discusses what he learned about how to live a life of integrity. Among other things he says: It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time. If you give in to “just this once,”…you’ll regret where you end up. You’ve got to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe place. I think this is relevant, both in the small things — whether to work out today when it’s raining — and in the larger decisions which help us be proud of our lives.…Clayton Christensen, in his book and article ’How will you measure your life?’, discusses what he learned about how to live a life of integrity. Among other things he says: It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time. If you give in to “just this once,”…you’ll regret where you end up. You’ve got to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe place. I think this is relevant, both in the small things — whether to work out today when it’s raining — and in the larger decisions which help us be proud of our lives.

16 Feb 2020

Thunderclap or rumble

If you’ve ever been close enough to lightning when it strikes you may be familiar with the startling high frequency thunderclap or crack it makes. But the high frequency soundwaves of the clap are attenuated by their travel through the air away from the source so that from a kilometre or so away all you hear is the growling of the thunder rumbling away as it clatters and rebounds off everywhere it hits. I learned about this from Randall Munroe’s fun book How to: Absurd scientific advice for common real-world problems.…If you’ve ever been close enough to lightning when it strikes you may be familiar with the startling high frequency thunderclap or crack it makes. But the high frequency soundwaves of the clap are attenuated by their travel through the air away from the source so that from a kilometre or so away all you hear is the growling of the thunder rumbling away as it clatters and rebounds off everywhere it hits. I learned about this from Randall Munroe’s fun book How to: Absurd scientific advice for common real-world problems.

9 Feb 2020

Commitment device

Sometimes we’re smart enough to know that we’ll have trouble doing something we want to get done. That might be going to the gym, finishing that essay instead of goofing around, quitting smoking, doing your taxes, or, if you happen to be Odysseus, listening to the sirens’ song without going crazy and diving in the water or driving your boat to be crashed on to the rocks. In these cases, you can try a commitment device: a voluntary restriction to help maintain our future self-control. In Odysseus’s case he instructed his men to fill their ears with wax and to bind him the mast and told them if he asked them to let him go then they were to bind him tighter. In this way, he managed to listen to the sirens’ song without ending up at the bottom of the sea. Other commitment device’s may be more mundane, such as publicly announcing to your friends that you’re going to do something, paying a bunch of money to sign up for something upfront, or handing a $20 bill to a friend with instructions not to give it back until you’ve done what you’re supposed to. Here are some nice examples of commitment devices.…Sometimes we’re smart enough to know that we’ll have trouble doing something we want to get done. That might be going to the gym, finishing that essay instead of goofing around, quitting smoking, doing your taxes, or, if you happen to be Odysseus, listening to the sirens’ song without going crazy and diving in the water or driving your boat to be crashed on to the rocks. In these cases, you can try a commitment device: a voluntary restriction to help maintain our future self-control. In Odysseus’s case he instructed his men to fill their ears with wax and to bind him the mast and told them if he asked them to let him go then they were to bind him tighter. In this way, he managed to listen to the sirens’ song without ending up at the bottom of the sea. Other commitment device’s may be more mundane, such as publicly announcing to your friends that you’re going to do something, paying a bunch of money to sign up for something upfront, or handing a $20 bill to a friend with instructions not to give it back until you’ve done what you’re supposed to. Here are some nice examples of commitment devices.

2 Feb 2020

Search·Categories·Archive·List