My first instinct would have been something like that, but on second thought, I’d start with a example of a boat moving in water and the waves it makes, maybe drawing a picture and ask them to visualize it. This is admittedly very crude and inaccurate, but gives a good overview of the phenomenon. After that I’d elaborate on the differences of surface waves vs. pressure waves, wavelength & frequency and anatomy of hearing etc.
Generally speaking (and not directed against anything anyone has said): give the explainee an intuitive framework to hang details on, don’t pour a litany of seemingly unconnected facts. Just make sure he doesn’t confuse the crude framework for the actual phenomenon.
(...And more generally: of course, the best would be to explain in a mode that is natural for the individual… for me (and, I assume, quite a few others) it’s visuality & real-world analogies.)
Welcome to Less Wrong! Feel free to introduce yourself on that thread. Here’s the rest of RobinZ’s newcomer welcome package.
And thanks for the reply to my article and comment. I hope to have an article about how to explain up soon, which will expand on the ideas here (this thread and the article).
My first instinct would have been something like that, but on second thought, I’d start with a example of a boat moving in water and the waves it makes, maybe drawing a picture and ask them to visualize it. This is admittedly very crude and inaccurate, but gives a good overview of the phenomenon. After that I’d elaborate on the differences of surface waves vs. pressure waves, wavelength & frequency and anatomy of hearing etc.
Generally speaking (and not directed against anything anyone has said): give the explainee an intuitive framework to hang details on, don’t pour a litany of seemingly unconnected facts. Just make sure he doesn’t confuse the crude framework for the actual phenomenon.
(...And more generally: of course, the best would be to explain in a mode that is natural for the individual… for me (and, I assume, quite a few others) it’s visuality & real-world analogies.)
(And hello, everyone. First post.)
Welcome to Less Wrong! Feel free to introduce yourself on that thread. Here’s the rest of RobinZ’s newcomer welcome package.
And thanks for the reply to my article and comment. I hope to have an article about how to explain up soon, which will expand on the ideas here (this thread and the article).