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

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The golden ratio

The proportions of the golden ratio pop up in all sorts of places. They are a handy shortcut to make something we seem to innately find pleasingly proportioned. In nature, the golden spiral abounds in the shell of the nautilus, the spiral of strawberry seeds, the spikes of cacti, and hurricanes. It’s found in the pyramids, the Parthenon, the Mona Lisa, violins, photography and, very deliberately, in corporate logos. No wonder it’s sometimes called the golden ratio of beauty. There’s a pleasing simplicity to the equation too, where the ratio of the long over the short dimension is the same as both added together over the long dimension. Check out some golden ratio examples. Even Trump. This sketch features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures along with 136 other fun and fascinating concepts.…The proportions of the golden ratio pop up in all sorts of places. They are a handy shortcut to make something we seem to innately find pleasingly proportioned. In nature, the golden spiral abounds in the shell of the nautilus, the spiral of strawberry seeds, the spikes of cacti, and hurricanes. It’s found in the pyramids, the Parthenon, the Mona Lisa, violins, photography and, very deliberately, in corporate logos. No wonder it’s sometimes called the golden ratio of beauty. There’s a pleasing simplicity to the equation too, where the ratio of the long over the short dimension is the same as both added together over the long dimension. Check out some golden ratio examples. Even Trump. This sketch features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures along with 136 other fun and fascinating concepts.

7 Nov 2016

Freeze lemons and limes

There always seem to be more than we need in a bag. This is a nice end for them. HT: Charlotte…

1 Nov 2016

Set your table in time-honoured positions.

The classic “use cutlery from the outside-in” still holds, but I realised there’s a little more to it than that. And I learned what a charger is. Amalgamation of tips from the cookbook I use most, the Joy of Cooking.…

24 Oct 2016

Fix out of synch toilet paper.

Usually the layers are just out of synch and taking the top layer over the top will put all back in order. Randomly, I remember seeing this explained on a kids TV show possibly decades ago.…

16 Oct 2016

Know your Greek alphabet

Unless you were a maths, physics or Greek major, chances are your knowledge, like mine, may not have gone much farther than epsilon. I like how the letter names and shapes map or don’t to the Roman or Latin alphabet.…

10 Oct 2016

The S-curve

A remarkably common pattern for the evolution of many things. You see it all the time in the evolution of technical things, but also many systems in general. When you start to reach the top of the limits of what one system can do you’ll start to see a focus on efficiency, cost reduction and small improvements and optimisation. This is great because it forces a new creative solution to arise in order to make any real progress. An image search gives a few examples. Also see: The long nose of innovation designing for adoption understanding the chasm…A remarkably common pattern for the evolution of many things. You see it all the time in the evolution of technical things, but also many systems in general. When you start to reach the top of the limits of what one system can do you’ll start to see a focus on efficiency, cost reduction and small improvements and optimisation. This is great because it forces a new creative solution to arise in order to make any real progress. An image search gives a few examples. Also see: The long nose of innovation designing for adoption understanding the chasm

30 Sep 2016

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