Thing Explainer

Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

| 4.22 | 11,209 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Bill Gates, Kate Lee (St Paul's Girls' School), and 2 others. See all reviews

Ranked #1 in Automotive Engineering, Ranked #1 in Classical Mechanics — see more rankings.

In Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words, things are explained in the style of Up Goer Five, using only drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or "ten hundred") most common words. Explore computer buildings (datacenters), the flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates), the things you use to steer a plane (airliner cockpit controls), and the little bags of water you're made of (cells). less
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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Thing Explainer from the world's leading experts.

Bill Gates CEO/MicrosoftThing Explainer is filled with cool basic knowledge about how the world works. If one of Munroe’s drawings inspires you to go learn more about a subject—including a few extra terms—then he will have done his job. He has written a wonderful guide for curious minds. (Source)

Kate Lee (St Paul's Girls' School) It’s about how to explain things using the simplest terms you possibly can, using only the top 1,000 words in the English language. It’s just ingenious. So many people will try and sound clever by using lots of fancy words, but this is exact opposite. It is being clever by using the most straightforward language you possibly can, without sacrificing accuracy. It’s beautifully drawn and beautifully written, and it makes me smile a lot. (Source)

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