One day after swimming front crawl, which works the triceps nicely, it all became clear. The triceps muscle has a curious shape at the top on account of its three 'heads' — or connecting origins. And the name derives from tri-ceps from Latin meaning three-heads. And so it goes. The biceps is a two-headed muscle attached with a long and short connection at the top. And the more complicated quadriceps has four heads that attach at the top, though they're a little harder to see.

Beyond this concept finally clicking for me, it was fun to emulate some of the anatomical graphical style of Leonardo Da Vinci — perhaps the ultimate at sketchplanations? — which I have long admired. For inspiration, this is a cracking collection: Leonardo Da Vinci the Graphic Works.

Biceps, triceps, quadriceps

While talking on a walk with our 9-year old he suddenly said "Well, what does it matter anyway? We've messed up our planet and it's filling up with plastic." This is a mighty burden to bear for a 9-year old. With increased awareness and education across society, climate anxiety is real. One good thing however, is that one way to alleviate climate anxiety is to be taking action, and fortunately action is also what the planet needs too.

One small action I am taking is a new commitment to plant 5 trees every month for every person who is supporting me on Patreon at any level. So a small contribution could also see you plant 60 trees a year. Together I think we can make a difference. Plant trees and support Sketchplanations on Patreon.

Update 28/2/21: Today I planted 370 trees with awesome Eden Reforestation Projects 🙌 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳

Climate anxiety

James Nottingham's metaphor of The Learning Pit illustrates the struggle before "getting it."

It's the learning journey of approaching a new concept, uncovering conflicts or contradictions with your knowledge, confusion, beginning to put new ideas together and finally the clarity of a new concept mastered.

There are natural parallels to other models like the stages of competence, Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, or Carol Dweck's growth mindset.

Here's a nice animated video explaining the Learning Pit if you're curious.

The Learning Pit was created by James Nottingham (2007, 2010, 2017). More details at: challenginglearning.com/learning-pit

Nottingham, J.A. (2007). Exploring the Learning Pit. Teaching Thinking and Creativity, 8:2(23), 64–68. Birmingham, UK: Imaginative Minds
Nottingham, J.A. (2010). Challenging Learning (1st ed.). Alnwick, Northumberland, UK: JN Publishing.
Nottingham, J.A. (2017). The Learning Challenge: How to Guide Your Students Through the Learning Pit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Thanks to Julia Silver of Qualified Tutor for educating me about it.