Sketchplanations - A weekly explanation in a sketch

Sketchplanations in a book! I think you'll love Big Ideas Little Pictures

Sketchplanations podcast photo of Rob Bell, Tom Pellereau and Jono Hey

Prefer to listen?
Try the podcast

Like Sketchplanations?
Support me on Patreon

Explaining the world one sketch at a time

Catch drilling dust with a Post it

For a super simple way to avoid making a mess when drilling into walls. Louise, sent me this to try as another method: So my Dad has half a tennis ball with a hole through it. Drill bit goes through hole. Tennis ball hemisphere presses against wall on flat side. All dust goes into ball. When he pulls it out he holds upwards then tips into bin. Smart.…

2 Dec 2017

Inverted pyramid writing

A handy journalist technique whereby you write in such a way that even a cursory glance at an article gives the key facts, and the further you read down you increase your knowledge with the next most important facts. As opposed to say, a chronological account of an event where the important stuff may be at the end. The BBC at least are great examples of this, for instance in a Premier League match write-up. Given how people read on the web generally, it’s pretty good to keep in mind for anything you write on the web too. Also see: the best writing is rewriting, front load names to cue attention…A handy journalist technique whereby you write in such a way that even a cursory glance at an article gives the key facts, and the further you read down you increase your knowledge with the next most important facts. As opposed to say, a chronological account of an event where the important stuff may be at the end. The BBC at least are great examples of this, for instance in a Premier League match write-up. Given how people read on the web generally, it’s pretty good to keep in mind for anything you write on the web too. Also see: the best writing is rewriting, front load names to cue attention

25 Nov 2017

Buyer’s remorse

That annoying feeling after you’ve bought something where you’re just not sure if you did the right thing. Darn it.…

18 Nov 2017

Goodhart's law illustration showing a manager frustrated by 1000's of tiny nails when measuring on number of nails made, and pulling their hair out when presented with giant nails when measuring on weight

Goodhart’s Law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Goodhart's law states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. In other words, if you pick a measure to assess performance, people find a way to game it. To illustrate, I like the (probably apocryphal) story of a nail factory that sets "Number of nails produced" as its measure of productivity. The workers figure out they can easily make tons of tiny nails to hit the target. Yet, when the frustrated managers switch the assessment to "weight of nails made", the workers again outfox them by making a few giant heavy nails. And there's the story of measuring fitness by steps from a pedometer only to find the pedometer attached to the dog. Some strategies for helping this are to try and find better, harder-to-game measures, assess with multiple measures, or allow a little discretion. More detail in this nice little article. I also liked an idea I read in Measure What Matters of pairing a quantity measure with a quality measure, for example, assessing both the number of nails and customer satisfaction of the nails. How strongly Goodhart's Law applies varies. John Cutler shared the Cutler Variation of Goodhart's Law: "In environments with high psychological safety, trust, and an appreciation for complex sociotechnical systems, when a measure becomes a target, it can remain a good measure because missing the target is treated as a valuable signal for continuous improvement rather than failure." Related Ideas to Goodhart's Law Also see: Campbell's Law The Cobra Effect The Law of Unintended Consequences…Goodhart's law states that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. In other words, if you pick a measure to assess performance, people find a way to game it. To illustrate, I like the (probably apocryphal) story of a nail factory that sets "Number of nails produced" as its measure of productivity. The workers figure out they can easily make tons of tiny nails to hit the target. Yet, when the frustrated managers switch the assessment to "weight of nails made", the workers again outfox them by making a few giant heavy nails. And there's the story of measuring fitness by steps from a pedometer only to find the pedometer attached to the dog. Some strategies for helping this are to try and find better, harder-to-game measures, assess with multiple measures, or allow a little discretion. More detail in this nice little article. I also liked an idea I read in Measure What Matters of pairing a quantity measure with a quality measure, for example, assessing both the number of nails and customer satisfaction of the nails. How strongly Goodhart's Law applies varies. John Cutler shared the Cutler Variation of Goodhart's Law: "In environments with high psychological safety, trust, and an appreciation for complex sociotechnical systems, when a measure becomes a target, it can remain a good measure because missing the target is treated as a valuable signal for continuous improvement rather than failure." Related Ideas to Goodhart's Law Also see: Campbell's Law The Cobra Effect The Law of Unintended Consequences

11 Nov 2017

Kayak v Canoe illustration: on the left we see a kayak with one person sat with legs stretched out inside the hull with a double-bladed paddle. On the right, 2 people sit in the open canoe, each with a single-bladed paddle.

Kayak vs Canoe

What’s the difference? OK, this is not rocket science, but I remember growing up it took me a while to not be calling them interchangeably. There are so many neat hybrid ways to get on the water now that nothing is cut and dry, but if they look like what’s in the picture then you can be pretty confident you’ll be getting it right.…

4 Nov 2017

What is Double-landlocked and which countries are double-landlocked: Lichtenstein and Uzbekistan —explained with a map of Lichtenstein wholly surrounded by landlocked countries

Double-landlocked countries

Growing up on the island of Great Britain, I took for granted that after a few hours of travel in most directions, I'd be looking out to sea. But that's not the case for many people. If you were born in a landlocked country, there's no coastline, and you'd need to cross at least one other country to reach the ocean. And there's a much rarer situation: being double-landlocked. Only two countries in the world have this unique distinction: Uzbekistan and Liechtenstein. What Does Double-Landlocked Mean? To be double-landlocked, a country must be surrounded entirely by landlocked neighbours. In other words, not only does the country itself lack access to the sea, but every country bordering it is also landlocked. If you live in a double-landlocked country, you must cross at least two national borders before reaching a coastline connected to the oceans. The World's Only Double-Landlocked Countries There are just two double-landlocked countries in the world: Uzbekistan Located in Central Asia, Uzbekistan is surrounded entirely by other landlocked nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. To reach the ocean, you'd need to cross at least one of these countries and then go through another country to its coastline. For instance, you could cross through Kazakhstan (landlocked) and on through Russia to reach the Arctic Ocean. Or perhaps through Afghanistan and then Pakistan to reach the Indian Ocean. Although Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea, the Caspian Sea isn't connected to the open oceans. Liechtenstein The tiny principality of Liechtenstein, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, is the other double-landlocked country. Because Switzerland and Austria are landlocked, reaching the ocean involves crossing at least one of these countries and then travelling through a third—perhaps heading south through Switzerland to the Italian coastline for a nice trip. Being double-landlocked adds complexity to trade and transport and a particular reliance on neighbours. Are There Double-Landlocked States in the United States? Landlocked and double-landlocked also applies to states in the US. 27 US States are considered landlocked to some degree. 16 states are singly landlocked—crossing one state boundary would give them access to the ocean. 10 states are double-landlocked because reaching the coastline requires crossing at least two other states. These are: Utah Wyoming Colorado South Dakota Kansas Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Illinois Indiana And Nebraska is the only triple-landlocked state. To reach the ocean, Nebraskans must first cross a double-landlocked state, then a landlocked state. More Geography Facts and Sketches Point Nemo The Coastline Paradox The Mercator Projection The Continental Axis Hypothesis Types of volcano: Red and Gray volcanoes Capitonym The Making of the Med Why do Birds Migrate So Far Settlement patterns Double-landlocked countries, along with other fascinating facts about the world, features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures.…Growing up on the island of Great Britain, I took for granted that after a few hours of travel in most directions, I'd be looking out to sea. But that's not the case for many people. If you were born in a landlocked country, there's no coastline, and you'd need to cross at least one other country to reach the ocean. And there's a much rarer situation: being double-landlocked. Only two countries in the world have this unique distinction: Uzbekistan and Liechtenstein. What Does Double-Landlocked Mean? To be double-landlocked, a country must be surrounded entirely by landlocked neighbours. In other words, not only does the country itself lack access to the sea, but every country bordering it is also landlocked. If you live in a double-landlocked country, you must cross at least two national borders before reaching a coastline connected to the oceans. The World's Only Double-Landlocked Countries There are just two double-landlocked countries in the world: Uzbekistan Located in Central Asia, Uzbekistan is surrounded entirely by other landlocked nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. To reach the ocean, you'd need to cross at least one of these countries and then go through another country to its coastline. For instance, you could cross through Kazakhstan (landlocked) and on through Russia to reach the Arctic Ocean. Or perhaps through Afghanistan and then Pakistan to reach the Indian Ocean. Although Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea, the Caspian Sea isn't connected to the open oceans. Liechtenstein The tiny principality of Liechtenstein, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, is the other double-landlocked country. Because Switzerland and Austria are landlocked, reaching the ocean involves crossing at least one of these countries and then travelling through a third—perhaps heading south through Switzerland to the Italian coastline for a nice trip. Being double-landlocked adds complexity to trade and transport and a particular reliance on neighbours. Are There Double-Landlocked States in the United States? Landlocked and double-landlocked also applies to states in the US. 27 US States are considered landlocked to some degree. 16 states are singly landlocked—crossing one state boundary would give them access to the ocean. 10 states are double-landlocked because reaching the coastline requires crossing at least two other states. These are: Utah Wyoming Colorado South Dakota Kansas Iowa Missouri Wisconsin Illinois Indiana And Nebraska is the only triple-landlocked state. To reach the ocean, Nebraskans must first cross a double-landlocked state, then a landlocked state. More Geography Facts and Sketches Point Nemo The Coastline Paradox The Mercator Projection The Continental Axis Hypothesis Types of volcano: Red and Gray volcanoes Capitonym The Making of the Med Why do Birds Migrate So Far Settlement patterns Double-landlocked countries, along with other fascinating facts about the world, features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures.

28 Oct 2017

Search·Categories·Archive