Sketchplanations
Big Ideas Little Pictures

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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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Learn something new in a sketch each Sunday

Recent sketches

The Big Ideal ™

A model from Ogilvy and Mather that’s a really interesting way to get to the heart of what could make your brand thrive. The intersection between what people care about (a cultural tension) and what you could be famous as a business (your brand’s best self) is a recipe for doing something good that matters. Try starting from a question: “The world would be a better place if…” and see where you get to. I learned it from Carl Mesner Lyons. Check out The Big IdeaL on Ogilvy and Mather for more.
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Benefits to you from getting started chart — put it off and stress about it = no benefit, start now with something = some benefit

Benefits to you from getting started

Alternatives researched, well qualified, books bought and read, desk clean, no disruptions, sitting comfortably, inbox cleared, coffee in hand, ready to get started? It’s easy to be paralyzed by choices, unsure of our expertise, gnawed by doubt and uncertain if we’re ready to give something a go. For many of us, the threshold is high to get started on the projects in our heads, the actions to improve our finances or the exercise we plan to do. It’s so easy to think we’re not ready. Here’s the actor Hugh Laurie with one of my favourite pieces of advice: “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that, actually, no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” — Hugh Laurie Getting started allows us to start learning. Sure, our first steps might be the wrong ones, but in starting, we soon find the right ones. This sketch is in the style of the financial advisor Carl Richards who publishes at behaviorgap.com. His simple, minimalist drawings do a great job of hitting home a point, and he also shares the wise advice: “The only mistake you can make when it comes to financial planning is doing nothing.” When I worked as head of user experience and design at Nutmeg I saw, time and again, that the largest mistake people made with their finances was putting it off and, ultimately, doing nothing. Worried about making a hash of something? Don’t worry. The first draft is always perfect. Here are more of my sketches with my thoughts on getting started. This sketch was revised (see original) for the book Big Ideas Little Pictures.
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How do barnacles move

How do barnacles move anyway?

How do barnacles move? Well, the barnacles we see don’t move. But when they’re little, they do swim, and once they’ve found their spot they basically cement themselves in place. They’re what’s known as sessile animals — ones that don’t move once settled, along with mussels and coral. Now that would be a different way of life.
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Microlife: 30 mins of TV soap, 2 cigarettes, 7 units of alcohol

Microlife: The unit of life

A microlife is thirty minutes of your life expectancy. You can use it up by chilling for 30 minutes or you could start to speed through them by smoking a few cigarettes or having a few drinks. A simple way to bring difficult-to-grasp long-term, slow-burn risks into a unit that can motivate you and a handy way to compare risks. Even better, you gain a microlife with 2-3 cups of coffee. Win! Also see, micromort, the unit of death Interesting? See Microlives: A lesson in risk taking, by Cambridge University Professor of risk David Spiegelhalter. Or see his 15 min TED talk: Motorbikes, Terrorism, Heart Attacks, Sausages: Professor David Spiegelhalter at TEDxOxbridge, or the full paper.
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Micromort: 1 day of living, 20 miles by bike, 250 miles by car

Micromort: The unit of death

A micromort is a one in one million chance of sudden death during the activity. You get a day of regular living for one micromort (though clearly that probably depends on what your average day is). Turns out you get a lot further per micromort by car, and that motorways are by far the safest form of road. You’ll experience 7 micromorts from running a marathon and 39,427 from climbing Everest. Introduced by Stanford Professor, Ronald Howard. Also see: Microlife, the unit of life
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