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Explore the full visual archive of over a decade of Sketchplanations and discover sketches that interest and inspire you. Use them to have great conversations about ideas.

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Beyond mountains, there are mountains — proverb from Haiti. Sometimes written as Beyond mountains, there are more mountains. Or Behind the mountain, more mountains.Beyond mountains, there are mountainsThe ordering problem: reasonable decisions that lead to dumb outcomes. Illustrated with a parking example where a late arrival curses someone who parked blocking multiple parking spacesThe Ordering Problem: Reasonable decisions that lead to dumb outcomesA year from now, you'll be grateful you started today. Quote based on Karen Lamb's quote: "A year from now, you will wish you had started today."A Year From Now, You'll be Grateful You Started TodayPetrichor: the smell of rain on dry ground from petra - stone, and ichor - the blood of the gods, with a person enjoying the smell in Richmond Park as the rain comes down.Petrichor: the smell of rain on dry groundBuridan's Ass philosophy puzzle: how does an ass choose between two equally tempting choices of piles of hay. How can we choose without a preference? Does it starve?Buridan's AssWhat is the wisdom paradox in a chart. Similar to the Dunning-Kruger effect, we are wiser when we realise we're not as wise as we thought. Inspired by the quote from Anthony de MelloThe Wisdom ParadoxThumbtrap: when your thumb keeps scrolling when you've decided to stop. Subway example with infinite scroll, variable rewards, and personalised algorithmsThumbtrapNight owls and early birds couple trying to sleep and get on with things at the same timeNight owls and early birdsThe Rose Bush Rule with the life is like a rose bush metaphor: pruning roses to allow the others to bloomThe Rose Bush RuleWhat is an endonym and exonym with examples of countries Deutschland – Germany, Espana – Spain, Nederland – Netherlands, Ellada – Greece, Nihon – JapanEndonym and exonymWhat is melody and what is harmony? Definitions and example of the difference between melody and harmony with sheet musicMelody and HarmonyWhat makes a swimming pool fast and how is a fast pool different from a slow pool? Physical and psychological factors in swimming pool design to help swimmers swim fast and compete at their bestFast Pool, Slow PoolCoach John Wooden's 8 Laws of Learning: Explanation, Demonstration, Imitation, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. With learning juggling analogy.Wooden's 8 Laws of LearningEinstein's Mirror - a famous thought experiment about what would you see if you travelled at the speed of light alongside a light wave and what would you see in a mirrorEinstein's MirrorThe positive and negative reinforcing cycles of try new things and anxiety - with a boat sailing from the harbourTrying New ThingsLittle openings: small moments that invite connection - sharing an umbrella, holding a door, carrying a suitcase, sneezing, borrowing eggs, directing someone lost, or picking up dropped papersLittle OpeningsUnderstanding El Niño, what it is, how it works and the 3 phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation including the Neutral Phase, El Niño and La NiñaUnderstanding El NiñoMethods for opening jars. A how to lifehack list of techniques for when you can't open stubborn lidsOpening stubborn jars: an escalation of methods“I will study and get ready and perhaps my chance will come” — Abraham Lincoln quote. Inspirational quote about preparation, patience, hard work, self-improvement and being ready for opportunityI will study and get ready and perhaps my chance will come — Abraham LincolnWhat is a thermocline? The meaning of water temperature changing with depth with view of ocean layer and density of molecules and sea iceThermoclineWhat are recursive islands and lakes? Drawing showing an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island, illustrating higher-order nested islands and lakesRecursive IslandsMoravec's Paradox meaning for AI with examplesMoravec's ParadoxEminem rhyme with orange example: "I put my orange four-inch door hinge in storage and ate porridge with George" showing how "nothing rhymes with orange" is wrongSo Nothing Rhymes with Orange?The McNamara Fallacy, also known as the quantitative fallacy, where we measure what is easy and ignore what is hardThe McNamara FallacyAll models are wrong, but some are useful - George Box statistics quote example and meaning with a map and simple modelAll models are wrong, but some are useful — George Box quoteThe Iceberg Model in psychology and systems thinking - above the surface and beneath the surfaceThe Iceberg ModelWhat is uitwaaien: Dutch word meaning walking in the wind to clear your head, with worries blown away on a windy beachUitwaaien: The Dutch Word for Walking in the WindCoffee: the glorious solution to the coffee sleep cycle with poor sleep caused by coffee, leading to tiredness, solved by coffeeCoffee: The Glorious Solution to The Coffee–Sleep CyclePyrrhic saving concept showing shoppers leaving a megastore with an overloaded trolley under deal signs, captioned “If we save any more money, we’ll be ruined” – spending more to save money examplePyrrhic Saving: "Saving" money by spending moreVolcanic Explosivity Index VEI 0 to 8 with examples Kilauea, Etna, Mt St Helens, Pinatubo, Tambora and Yellowstone, each level about 10 times more materialThe Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): Comparing EruptionsThe Mathematics of Everyday Life showing everyday maths examples including budgeting, shopping, splitting a bill, travel planning, buying a house, voting statistics, baking measurements and fitting furniture, created for the VERDI inclusive mathematics project.Mathematics in Everyday LifeWhen there’s a gold rush, sell shovels and picks, a classic business and entrepreneurship quote with prospectors chasing gold and suppliers lining the roadWhen there's a gold rush, sell shovelsFront-load key words in lists and when writing for the web for clearer communication with a conference features exampleFront-load Key WordsLaplace's Demon thought experiment quote by Pierre-Simon Laplace about determinism and predictabilityLaplace's DemonCommon dune types showing how different wind patterns and sand availability shape transverse dunes, linear dunes, barchan dunes and star dunes.Dune Types: Transverse, Linear, Barchan, Star DunesWhat is contentment? Happiness, wellbeing and contentment is what you have relative to what you want, from Morgan Housel’s The Art of Spending Money.Contentment: What you Have Relative to What you WantExplanation of SMART goals meaning, showing that SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, and how setting SMART goals leads to clearer progressSMART GoalsWhat is diagonal billing in cinema, film credits, titles, and design? Example of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman from the Towering Inferno in a movie theatre. Also staggered billing.Diagonal Billing (or Staggered Billing)Cornwall vs Devon cream tea styles shown side by side: jam first for Cornwall, cream first for Devon.Cream Tea: Cream First or Jam First?What are the contradictory traits of creative people? Illustration of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s 10 paradoxical personality traits, showing each pair of opposites such as energetic and restful, smart and naive, and passionate and objective.10 Contradictory Traits of Creative People
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