Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Sketchplanations makes complex ideas simple with clear, insightful sketches. Explore topics from science, creativity, psychology, and beyond explained in pictures.

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Recent sketches

Moon pool

Moon pools are protected entrances to water that can even give the remarkable ability to enter from under the water. First created to support drilling operations on offshore platforms, moon pools can include entrances on the decks or undersides of ships or an entry and exit for divers from permanent underwater research bases. How does an underwater moon pool work? For underwater entrances, also known as wet porches, the trick is to pressurize the air around the pool to the same pressure as the surrounding water. The raised pressure keeps the water from gushing in and enables a swimming pool-like entrance even though you’re already below the surface. I've never used one, but I'd absolutely love to. One of my earliest memories of a moon pool and corresponding bafflement and wonder was in James Cameron's 1989 film The Abyss. A moon pool features in the recent trailer for the remastered version of The Abyss…Moon pools are protected entrances to water that can even give the remarkable ability to enter from under the water. First created to support drilling operations on offshore platforms, moon pools can include entrances on the decks or undersides of ships or an entry and exit for divers from permanent underwater research bases. How does an underwater moon pool work? For underwater entrances, also known as wet porches, the trick is to pressurize the air around the pool to the same pressure as the surrounding water. The raised pressure keeps the water from gushing in and enables a swimming pool-like entrance even though you’re already below the surface. I've never used one, but I'd absolutely love to. One of my earliest memories of a moon pool and corresponding bafflement and wonder was in James Cameron's 1989 film The Abyss. A moon pool features in the recent trailer for the remastered version of The Abyss

29 Apr 2017

Bugs and releases

Smaller software releases generally means fewer bugs, and bugs that are easier to fix. The number of bugs created typically increases with the complexity of interactions of code, which in turn increases with the size of release. This means that a number of smaller releases can hopefully get you to a large change in a safer way with less bugs, and less problematic bugs, created along the way than a single release with the whole lot. There’s probably a somewhat more general relationship with amount of unexpected problems created and the size of any change. Credit to Ewan Silver.…Smaller software releases generally means fewer bugs, and bugs that are easier to fix. The number of bugs created typically increases with the complexity of interactions of code, which in turn increases with the size of release. This means that a number of smaller releases can hopefully get you to a large change in a safer way with less bugs, and less problematic bugs, created along the way than a single release with the whole lot. There’s probably a somewhat more general relationship with amount of unexpected problems created and the size of any change. Credit to Ewan Silver.

22 Apr 2017

Sea jelly, sea star

Not the easiest switch to make but given that jellyfish and starfish are not at all fish there is a move to call them sea jelly and sea star. As long as we all work to help protect them clearly it doesn’t matter a whole lot, but I think the move to sea jellies and sea stars makes good sense alongside others like the sea horse, sea cucumber, sea lion, sea lily, sea gooseberry…well, actually the sea horse is a type of fish, but you get the idea.…Not the easiest switch to make but given that jellyfish and starfish are not at all fish there is a move to call them sea jelly and sea star. As long as we all work to help protect them clearly it doesn’t matter a whole lot, but I think the move to sea jellies and sea stars makes good sense alongside others like the sea horse, sea cucumber, sea lion, sea lily, sea gooseberry…well, actually the sea horse is a type of fish, but you get the idea.

14 Apr 2017

Orthographic projection

Orthographic projection is a handy technique for communicating much of what you need about something. In an orthographic drawing, you draw a face-on, side-on, and top-down view of an object, allowing you to see the same shape from different perspectives in a single drawing. The neat thing I found about an orthographic drawing is how, when laid out as in the sketch, the dimensions of one view can be extended into the adjacent views, helping to keep the drawing accurate. I definitely felt some satisfaction and enjoyment working on an orthographic projection drawing on a large drawing board with a built-in ruler. While orthographic projections can be helpful for accurately representing an object, they struggle a bit with hollows and some other features that can make them start to look a bit fiddly. Perhaps combine an orthographic view with an isometric projection.…Orthographic projection is a handy technique for communicating much of what you need about something. In an orthographic drawing, you draw a face-on, side-on, and top-down view of an object, allowing you to see the same shape from different perspectives in a single drawing. The neat thing I found about an orthographic drawing is how, when laid out as in the sketch, the dimensions of one view can be extended into the adjacent views, helping to keep the drawing accurate. I definitely felt some satisfaction and enjoyment working on an orthographic projection drawing on a large drawing board with a built-in ruler. While orthographic projections can be helpful for accurately representing an object, they struggle a bit with hollows and some other features that can make them start to look a bit fiddly. Perhaps combine an orthographic view with an isometric projection.

8 Apr 2017

Henrik Kniberg's release strategy for happier customers, sooner showing a car built piece-by-piece and a car built skateboard, to scooter, to bike, motorcycle then car.

A release strategy for happier customers, sooner

I love this diagram by Henrik Kniberg for determining what to release to your customers and when. The idea is that a standard approach of having your grand plan of what you think people want at the start and then working on each bit at a time until finally, after months of work, you have something that works is not so smart. Each piece, in the car example, doesn’t help the customer at all until it’s all put together. Instead, you can focus on providing the next piece of functionality that helps someone get their job done a little better than before. In the beginning, they’ll probably have to put up with a lot if they want to use it, but with each successive release, they find they can get their job done a little better than before and get value out of what you’re building. A side-effect is the feedback you get along the way will likely help you learn and build something that is better than what you had in mind at the beginning, and all along the way, the customer had some value instead of waiting for months. Providing usable functionality at every step is not always easy, and it requires rework as you move from one step to the other. But it’s generally a price worth paying to give your customers value sooner and start learning as soon as you can. This diagram is explained in the brilliant product management book User Story Mapping by Jeff Patton.…I love this diagram by Henrik Kniberg for determining what to release to your customers and when. The idea is that a standard approach of having your grand plan of what you think people want at the start and then working on each bit at a time until finally, after months of work, you have something that works is not so smart. Each piece, in the car example, doesn’t help the customer at all until it’s all put together. Instead, you can focus on providing the next piece of functionality that helps someone get their job done a little better than before. In the beginning, they’ll probably have to put up with a lot if they want to use it, but with each successive release, they find they can get their job done a little better than before and get value out of what you’re building. A side-effect is the feedback you get along the way will likely help you learn and build something that is better than what you had in mind at the beginning, and all along the way, the customer had some value instead of waiting for months. Providing usable functionality at every step is not always easy, and it requires rework as you move from one step to the other. But it’s generally a price worth paying to give your customers value sooner and start learning as soon as you can. This diagram is explained in the brilliant product management book User Story Mapping by Jeff Patton.

1 Apr 2017

The Goldilocks Zone

The Goldilocks Zone is the range around a star that’s not too hot or too cold to support liquid water. Liquid water is vital to sustaining life like we have on Earth, so fortunately for us, Earth sits in the Goldilocks Zone. Consider the alternatives: If we lived too close to the sun, we’d roast. The average temperatures on Mercury and Venus are hot enough to boil water (and then some). And on Mars, the next planet farther out than Earth, the average temperature sits at -85 degrees F (-65 degrees C)— cold enough to freeze water solid. If you want to look for planets that might support life as we know it in distant star systems, looking for worlds occupying Goldilocks Zones is a promising start. This sketch, along with plenty of others in the "Starry-Eyed Surprises" section, features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Also see: Goldilocks Tasks Seasons Know your space objects: comets, asteroids, meteors, meteorites The potato radius…The Goldilocks Zone is the range around a star that’s not too hot or too cold to support liquid water. Liquid water is vital to sustaining life like we have on Earth, so fortunately for us, Earth sits in the Goldilocks Zone. Consider the alternatives: If we lived too close to the sun, we’d roast. The average temperatures on Mercury and Venus are hot enough to boil water (and then some). And on Mars, the next planet farther out than Earth, the average temperature sits at -85 degrees F (-65 degrees C)— cold enough to freeze water solid. If you want to look for planets that might support life as we know it in distant star systems, looking for worlds occupying Goldilocks Zones is a promising start. This sketch, along with plenty of others in the "Starry-Eyed Surprises" section, features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Also see: Goldilocks Tasks Seasons Know your space objects: comets, asteroids, meteors, meteorites The potato radius

25 Mar 2017

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