Thing Explainer

Last updated
Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words
Thing Explainer cover.png
Cover
Author Randall Munroe
LanguageEnglish
Subject Science miscellanea
Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date
November 24, 2015
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Website xkcd.com/thing-explainer/

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words is a 2015 illustrated non-fiction book created by Randall Munroe, in which the author attempts to explain various complex subjects using only the 1,000 most common English words. Munroe conceptualized the book in 2012, when drawing a schematic of the Saturn V rocket for his webcomic xkcd .

Contents

Synopsis

In Thing Explainer, Randall Munroe explains the function and mechanics of 54 subjects using only the 1,000 most commonly used words in the English language. [1] The book covers a wide range of topics, including pencils ("writing sticks"), cameras ("picture takers"), microwave ovens ("food-heating radio boxes"), airplane engines ("sky boat pushers"), and atom bombs ("machines for burning cities"). Besides technology, Munroe also explains human organs and conceptual subjects such as the periodic table. The book challenges its readers to figure out what the technical name is of the subjects it describes, and was described by Jack Schofield of ZDNet as a "puzzle game." [2]

The book is illustrated using stick figures and includes a large number of nerdy jokes. [1] Peter Gleick wrote for The Huffington Post that science communicators often use many uncommon and long words when describing complex topics, and that Thing Explainer explores "how to explain ideas and offer information in a simpler way." [3]

Conception and development

The concept of Thing Explainer took root in 2012, while Munroe was playing space simulator Kerbal Space Program . [2] Here, he was giving the rockets he designed silly names, such as "Up Goer" and "Skyboat," and he began wondering if he could explain how a rocket ship works using such simplified language. Munroe drew a rendering of the Saturn V rocket using blueprints from NASA's archives and annotated it with simplified descriptions, such as labeling the boosters as the spot where "lots of fire comes out." [4] Munroe published this drawing in his webcomic xkcd under the title "Up-Goer Five". [5] [6]

"Up-Goer Five" became the basis of Thing Explainer. In an interview with The New York Times , Munroe stated that "the word limit is fun, because it forces you to think about it some more." [4] Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) on November 24, 2015, the book was initially sold for $25 USD. [7] Wired described Thing Explainer as the followup to Munroe's 2014 book What If? . [8]

HMH began collaborating with Munroe in 2016 to incorporate parts of Thing Explainer in United States high school textbooks. 2016 editions of HMH's chemistry, biology, and physics textbooks include both old and new diagrams, charts, and stick figures by Munroe, as part of the HMH Science Dimensions program. [9] [10]

Reception

Reviewing the book, Naomi Alderman of The Guardian praised the detailed illustrations in Thing Explainer, describing it as "a beautifully designed journey through the intricacies of daily life." Alderman said that Munroe produced sentences of "startling clarity" writing the book, describing ideas precisely and in a compelling manner. However, she also noted that some of the passages in the book are more difficult to comprehend due to the restriction, which she called "part of the joke", saying that the book has "a cryptic crossword feel." [11] Stephen Shankland of CNET stated that Thing Explainer is "fun if you enjoy puzzles, annoying if you just want to learn." Shankland described the book as "clever, instructive, [and] thought-provoking," but stated that the book can come across as awkward if its reader does not take the book in the right spirit. [1]

Science communicator Peter Gleick stated that Munroe's description of the color of light is one of the best explanations of the topic he had seen, and that school teachers could learn from the book. [3] Blogger Cory Doctorow called the schematics Munroe used in the book as "a deceptive, seductive way of presenting the inscrutable and chaotic innards of our daily world," and proclaimed delight at watching the "linguistic backflips" Munroe goes through to express complex and technical ideas, while praising how clear the book can be. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory Doctorow</span> Canadian-British blogger, journalist and author (born 1971)

Cory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of its licences for his books. Some common themes of his work include digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Gleick</span> American author and historian of science (born 1954)

James Gleick is an American author and historian of science whose work has chronicled the cultural impact of modern technology. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonfiction, he has been called "one of the great science writers of all time". He is part of the inspiration for Jurassic Park character Ian Malcolm.

Dinosaur Comics is a constrained webcomic by Canadian writer Ryan North. It is also known as "Qwantz", after the site's domain name, "qwantz.com". The first comic was posted on February 1, 2003, although there were earlier prototypes. Dinosaur Comics has also been printed in three collections and in a number of newspapers. The comic centers on three main characters, T-Rex, Utahraptor and Dromiceiomimus.

Ghost is a written or spoken word game in which players take turns to extend the letters of a word without completing a valid word.

Boing Boing is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice won the Bloggies for Weblog of the Year, in 2004 and 2005. The editors are Mark Frauenfelder, David Pescovitz, Carla Sinclair, and Rob Beschizza, and the publisher is Jason Weisberger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakov Perelman</span> Russian science writer (1882–1942)

Yakov Isidorovich Perelman was a Russian and Soviet science writer and author of many popular science books, including Physics Can Be Fun and Mathematics Can Be Fun.

<i>Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal</i> Webcomic

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC) is a webcomic by Zach Weinersmith. The gag-a-day comic features few recurring characters or storylines, and has no set format; some strips may be a single panel, while others may go on for ten panels or more. Recurring themes in SMBC include science, research, superheroes, religion, romance, dating, parenting and the meaning of life. SMBC has run since 2002 and is published daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randall Munroe</span> American cartoonist and author (born 1984)

Randall Patrick Munroe is an American cartoonist, author, and engineer best known as the creator of the webcomic xkcd. Munroe has worked full-time on the comic since late 2006. In addition to publishing a book of the webcomic's strips, titled xkcd: Volume 0, he has written four books: What If?, Thing Explainer, How To, and What If? 2.

<i>xkcd</i> Webcomic by American cartoonist Randall Munroe

xkcd, sometimes styled XKCD, is a serial webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe. The comic's tagline describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Munroe states on the comic's website that the name of the comic is not an initialism but "just a word with no phonetic pronunciation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geohashing</span> Outdoor recreational activity

Geohashing is an outdoor recreational activity inspired by the webcomic xkcd, in which participants have to reach a random location, prove their achievement by taking a picture of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or another mobile device and then tell the story of their trip online. Proof based on non-electronic navigation is also acceptable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borderlands Books</span> Independent bookstore based in San Francisco

Borderlands Books is a San Francisco independent bookstore specializing exclusively in science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Time (<i>xkcd</i>) Long-form xkcd strip by Randall Munroe

"Time" is the 1,190th strip of Randall Munroe's webcomic xkcd. Beginning with a single frame published at midnight on March 25, 2013, the image was updated every 30 minutes until March 30, 2013, and then every hour for 118 days, ending on July 26 with a total of 3,102 unique images. Each image represented a single frame in a larger story.

<i>What If?</i> (book) Non-fiction book by Randall Munroe, 2014

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is a 2014 non-fiction book by Randall Munroe in which the author answers hypothetical science questions sent to him by readers of his webcomic, xkcd. The book contains a selection of questions and answers originally published on his blog What If?, along with several new ones. The book is divided into several dozen chapters, most of which are devoted to answering a unique question. What If? was released on September 2, 2014 and was received positively by critics. A sequel to the book, titled What If? 2, was released on September 13, 2022.

Notable events of 2013 in webcomics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maciej Cegłowski</span> Polish-American web developer, entrepreneur, speaker, and social critic

Maciej Cegłowski is a Polish-American web developer, entrepreneur, speaker, and social critic, based in San Francisco, California. He is the owner of the bookmarking service Pinboard, which he calls a social bookmarking site for introverts.

Crocodile in Water, Tiger on Land is an Indian webcomic series by an anonymous writer and illustrator duo. The webcomic launched in 2010 and is named after a Bengali saying similar to "being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea." It uses visual metaphors in order to communicate ideas related to the Indian social and political system, as well as the "absurdity of modern life." A book printing the webcomic was released in 2015.

Notable events of 2015 in webcomics.

<i>How To</i> (book) 2019 book by Randall Munroe

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems is a book by Randall Munroe in which the author provides absurd suggestions based in scientific fact on ways to solve some common and some absurd problems. The book contains a range of possible real-world and absurd problems, each the focus of a single chapter. The book was released on September 3, 2019.

The Ballmer Peak is a humorous concept invented by Randall Munroe in the xkcd webcomic, claiming that a programmer who is appropriately intoxicated can achieve a high level of productivity. The concept loosely tied to former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, and is likely a play on Balmer series of hydrogen spectral lines named for the scientist Johann Balmer.

<i>What If? 2</i> (book) 2022 non-fiction book by Randall Munroe

What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is a 2022 non-fiction book by Randall Munroe. The book seeks to provide scientific answers to hypothetical questions proposed by readers of the author's webcomic, xkcd, and blog, What If? A follow-up to Munroe's 2014 title What If?, the book was released on September 13, 2022 to generally positive reviews, with Time saying, "Science isn't easy, but in Munroe's capable hands, it surely can be fun."

References

  1. 1 2 3 Shankland, Stephen (2015-12-01). "'Thing Explainer': Fun if you enjoy puzzles, annoying if you just want to learn". CNET .
  2. 1 2 Schofield, Jack (2015-12-31). "xkcd in reverse - Thing Explainer explained (archived)". ZDNet . Archived from the original on 2016-01-01.
  3. 1 2 Gleick, Peter H. (2015-11-25). "'Thing Explainer' - A Review of Randall Munroe's New Book (Using the Ten Hundred Most Common Words)". The Huffington Post .
  4. 1 2 Alter, Alexandra (2015-11-24). "Randall Munroe Explains It All for Us". The New York Times .
  5. ↑ Munroe, Randall (November 12, 2012). "Up Goer Five". xkcd . Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Magazine, Smithsonian; Schultz, Colin. "The Up-Goer Five Thing, Where Learned People Explain Hard Stuff With Easy Words". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  7. ↑ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2015-05-13). "Xkcd Has a New Book About Explaining Complicated Subjects in Simple Ways". The Verge .
  8. ↑ Rundle, Michael (2015-11-20). "The smartphone ('hand computer') as explained by XKCD's Randall Munroe". Wired .
  9. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (2016-03-22). "Randall Munroe, XKCD Creator, Goes Back to High School". The New York Times .
  10. ↑ Jao, Charline (2016-03-23). "XKCD Creator Randall Munroe Making Content For High School Textbooks". The Mary Sue .
  11. ↑ Alderman, Naomi (2015-12-17). "Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe – funny, precise and beautifully designed". The Guardian .
  12. ↑ Doctorow, Cory (2015-11-24). "Randall "XCKD" Munroe's Thing Explainer: delightful exploded diagrams labelled with simple words". Boing Boing .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.