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Being able to explain it in 5 minutes doesn't necessarily mean it's not complex. It really depends on how elementary the explanation is. In other words, how com
by injb 6y ago
Being able to explain it in 5 minutes doesn't necessarily mean it's not complex. It really depends on how elementary the explanation is. In other words, how complex are the terms themselves in which you explained it?
For instance, you might say that the Fourier Transform is just a decomposition of a function of time into complex exponentials representing frequencies. But how does a complex exponential represent frequencies? Can you explain Euler's formula?
I usually pick someone I know well and consider what it would take to make them understand, given what I expect them to know already. I find this really helpful in testing my own understanding, but it's a good way of testing how complex an idea really is, relative to the average person's knowledge. (Incidentally I'd rank Fourier stuffs as pretty complicated, all things considered).
- 0xcafecafe 6y ago>Being able to explain it in 5 minutes doesn't necessarily mean it's not complex. I second this. Evolutionary biology is a complex topic. But all it took for me to understand the basics of it was the Carl Sagan video about the japanese crabs.
- goalieca 6y agoBuilding on the giants.. Fourier could more easily be explained once you understand linear transformation as a multiplication with basis vectors. Seems simple enough right? But that is assuming you the prerequisites.
- mikewarot 6y agoI can explain how atomic clocks work, to a layman, in 5 minutes. It's a matter of understanding the subject, and remembering what it is like NOT to understand it, and connecting the two in creative ways.