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Plenty of people don't talk down to 5 year olds. That's an assumption you've made regarding 'explain like I'm 5'. Ironically, that's what makes 'explain like I
by alexashka 9y ago
Plenty of people don't talk down to 5 year olds. That's an assumption you've made regarding 'explain like I'm 5'.
Ironically, that's what makes 'explain like I'm 5' so useful - it takes away the assumptions people have in their heads and forces them to use simple language and explain things from first principles.
It's quite powerful really. Richard Feynman was famous for being to explain physics in a way a layman could understand. Neil deGrasse Tyson does the same and people love it.
- bsder 9y ago> Richard Feynman was famous for being to explain physics in a way a layman could understand. Agreed. And the Challenger O-ring demonstration was a beautiful example of metaphor even if it wasn't correct. (Morton-Thiokol engineers had evidence that the O-rings didn't seal even at 75F and had been trying to stop launches PERIOD). However, Feynman was also famous for "proof by intimidation" if you caught him out on something he didn't understand.
- vostrocity 9y agoThere is another element beyond explaining clearly, and that is that people tend to remember and relate to tangible examples better than abstractions. Metaphors are great memory devices even for people who are not dumb or uneducated.