Book 15: Thing Explainer
First, I have to state up front that I am a very big fan of Randall Munroe. I first became acquainted with him through his internet comic strip xkcd, through which he has revealed himself to be brilliant and funny at math, science, computers, programming, and romance (it turns out he’s a rocket scientist for real, so there you go). I never miss a new comic post, and I devour anything and everything he writes. I say this because I think it’s important to know how much I WANT to love everything he does.
Thing Explainer is an interesting concept in which Randall attempts to explain 50 some-odd complicated things using only the most commonly used 1,000 words in the english language (ten hundred words, if you abide by his rule, where the word “thousand” doesn’t make the cut). I believe this book was inspired by an xkcd comic in which he explains the Saturn V rocket in this way (the comic is here, if you are interested. – I highly recommend reading it!)
While I enjoyed parts of Thing Explainer almost as much as the Saturn V comic, I did have a few problems with it. First, some things explained in this way were actually harder to understand, for example the internal organs of the human body. In this case, the actual words for things were generally easier to understand than the simple words versions (such as “brain” instead of “thinking bag” and “stomach” instead of “food bag”), and this become something of a distraction. Second, the novelty wore off long before I got to the end of the 50 or so things explained in this way. Third, and most irritating, the diagrams were fascinatingly complex, with lots of simple words to explain them, which meant the print was extremely tiny, so much so that I was forced to break out my Sherlock Holmes style magnifying glass in order to read them. The most frustrating page was the Colors Of Light where a significant portion of the text was printed on a graduated grey background that was difficult to see even with my Holmesian magnifier. Way to make me feel extra old, Randall!
On the other hand, there were some things explained that I thought were genius. I particularly enjoyed the Pieces Everything is Made Of (periodic table), Tall Roads (bridges) and Sky Boat with Turning Wings (helicopter). If I had to do it over, I would probably savour this book a couple of pages at a time over several weeks. During the day, in bright light, and perhaps in e-book format to enable zooming in.
Rating: Buy it if you love Randall like I do. Otherwise, read the Saturn V comic. If you liked it, buy the book. If you wondered what the point was, skip it.
