# Julia Evans - Patterns in Confusing Explanations (Highlights)  ## Metadata **Cover**:: https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article4.6bc1851654a0.png **Source**:: #from/readwise **Zettel**:: #zettel/fleeting **Status**:: #x **Authors**:: [[Julia Evans]] **Full Title**:: Patterns in Confusing Explanations **Category**:: #articles #readwise/articles **Category Icon**:: 📰 **URL**:: [jvns.ca](https://jvns.ca/blog/confusing-explanations/) **Host**:: [[jvns.ca]] **Highlighted**:: [[2021-08-22]] **Created**:: [[2022-09-26]] ## Highlights - pattern 1: making outdated assumptions about the audience’s knowledge - instead: test your explanations! ... So running an explanation by a few people who don’t already know the concept helps to catch incorrect assumptions I’ve made. - pattern 2: having inconsistent expectations of the reader’s knowledge - instead: pick 1 specific person and write for them! - writing that’s easy to understand for 1 person (other than you!) has a good chance of being easy to understand for many other people as well. - pattern 3: strained analogies - instead: keep analogies to a single idea ... option 1: use “implicit” metaphors ... option 2: use a very limited analogy - pattern 4: fun illustrations on dry explanations - instead: make the design reflect the style of the explanation - pattern 6: jargon that doesn’t mean anything - pattern 7: missing key information - pattern 8: introducing too many concepts at a time - pattern 9: starting out abstract - pattern 10: unsupported statements - pattern 12: explaining the “wrong” way to do something without saying it’s wrong - pattern 13: “what” without “why”