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I'm not a huge fan of the way he explains things with common vocabulary. Sure it makes sense to me because I understand that he means "organs" by bags and it's

by jonahrd 11y ago

I'm not a huge fan of the way he explains things with common vocabulary. Sure it makes sense to me because I understand that he means "organs" by bags and it's a kinda nice metaphor, but I feel like some of these explanations are just additionally complex because of the need to work around vocab limitations, and to someone who doesn't already know the material might be hard to follow.

DanBC 11y ago
It's a useful example to people who need to provide Easy Read documents for people with a learning disability. You can't just take the most used words and hope for the best. It takes real effort to get something understandable.
TheOneTrueKyle 11y ago
You have to keep in mind that this is also entertainment
- jeffwass 11y ago
  For me the concept got old really quickly in 'Thing Explainer' to point that while browsing in a book shop I went from quite interested in buying it to absolutely zero interest in the span of a couple minutes. The constraint of using only a limited number of common words made it feel like I was reading someone's speech impediment.
  - Nadya 11y ago
    I wouldn't read an educational material about how a submarine works, a helicopter works, and a microwave oven works all on the same day. I don't imagine many people would - especially if it were more technically laden in its vocabulary. Likewise - I wouldn't read all of 'Thing Explainer' in a single sitting either. A page every now and then and you don't get bogged down with reading simple language for hours on end. Reading over simplified things gets as tiring as reading overly complex material - because both can be quite mentally taxing. The increased difficulty of reading "eight and one" instead of "nine" gets more tiring than one might think...
  - captn3m0 11y ago
    Agree that it is not really a cover-to-cover book, but it works very well as a coffee table book to browse through when you are bored. We have a copy at our office, and our guests love it.
theandrewbailey 11y ago
True, things might have to be explained in a more verbose way due to vocabulary limitations, but I think the trade off of breaking things down into simpler parts and steps is worth it. It matches well with having to explain to my manager (or anyone else) what I've been programming all day.
JoeAltmaier 11y ago
By using a novel vocabulary, the ideas can enter your memory in a different way. Maybe a more lasting way. Its been done in other fields (language learning).
mrfusion 11y ago
I just kept wishing he had a glossary. There are still some I can't figure out like it said a lady bug isn't related to beetles. But maybe he didn't mean a lady bug?

by jonahrd 11y ago

DanBC 11y ago

It's a useful example to people who need to provide Easy Read documents for people with a learning disability. You can't just take the most used words and hope for the best. It takes real effort to get something understandable.

TheOneTrueKyle 11y ago

You have to keep in mind that this is also entertainment

jeffwass 11y ago
For me the concept got old really quickly in 'Thing Explainer' to point that while browsing in a book shop I went from quite interested in buying it to absolutely zero interest in the span of a couple minutes. The constraint of using only a limited number of common words made it feel like I was reading someone's speech impediment.
- Nadya 11y ago
  I wouldn't read an educational material about how a submarine works, a helicopter works, and a microwave oven works all on the same day. I don't imagine many people would - especially if it were more technically laden in its vocabulary. Likewise - I wouldn't read all of 'Thing Explainer' in a single sitting either. A page every now and then and you don't get bogged down with reading simple language for hours on end. Reading over simplified things gets as tiring as reading overly complex material - because both can be quite mentally taxing. The increased difficulty of reading "eight and one" instead of "nine" gets more tiring than one might think...
- captn3m0 11y ago
  Agree that it is not really a cover-to-cover book, but it works very well as a coffee table book to browse through when you are bored. We have a copy at our office, and our guests love it.

theandrewbailey 11y ago

True, things might have to be explained in a more verbose way due to vocabulary limitations, but I think the trade off of breaking things down into simpler parts and steps is worth it. It matches well with having to explain to my manager (or anyone else) what I've been programming all day.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago

By using a novel vocabulary, the ideas can enter your memory in a different way. Maybe a more lasting way. Its been done in other fields (language learning).

mrfusion 11y ago

I just kept wishing he had a glossary. There are still some I can't figure out like it said a lady bug isn't related to beetles. But maybe he didn't mean a lady bug?