How big is that pile of books next to your bed?

Tsundoku is a Japanese word for buying books and letting them pile up unread. It’s a familiar habit to book lovers everywhere — that growing stack of books you intend to read but haven’t yet. In this episode of Sketchplanations The Podcast, we explore why we buy books we don’t read, why unread books don’t always feel like a bad thing, and what this habit says about curiosity, identity, and our relationship with reading.

In this episode we embrace Tsundoku and our conversation ranges from buying too many books to the joy and guilt of collecting unread books, and how tsundoku can extend to audiobooks, hobbies, and other unread things. If you’ve ever wondered why you buy books faster than you can read them — or felt conflicted about your own unread pile — this episode is for you.

Links to items (mainly books) that we discussed:

• The book that changed Tom's life: Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark Winters
• The book from Jono's pile he next wants to start: A few short sentences about writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
• Robbie is most looking forward to getting started on: Whatever will be will be by Felix White
• Jono recommends cartoons about books and reading by Tom Gauld
• Big Ideas, Little Pictures is the Sketchplanations book by Jono Hey

Summary:

00:00 Introduction to Tsundoku: The Act of Collecting Unread Books

02:52 Personal Stories and Reflections on Tsundoku

05:20 The Broader Implications of Tsundoku

07:49 Books as Gifts and Their Value

10:03 The Joy and Guilt of Collecting Books

17:14 Final Thoughts and Reflections

19:34 Conclusion and Farewell

All music on this podcast series is by the very talented Franc Cinelli

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you know who your second cousins are or if you even have any? And what does "once removed" mean anyway?

Tune in to this episode as we unravel the mysteries of family relations—which we figured would be particularly helpful at the festive time of year.

We explore the subtleties of family trees, making our way to 'Second Cousins Once Removed'. We dig into the confusion around generational terms and the importance of knowing your extended family. We share a few family-related anecdotes and cultural differences, such as the Chinese family tree and Icelandic naming conventions. We strongly encourage you to follow along with the sketch at Sketchplanations.com to better understand your own family connections.

Here are the Chinese family tree names mentioned.

Episode Summary

00:00 Welcome to Sketchplanations

00:47 Understanding Family Relations

02:13 Exploring Second Cousins

06:06 Generational Differences Explained

11:48 Cultural Perspectives on Family Trees

14:57 Famous Families and Their Connections

15:08 The Mayflower Ancestor Story

15:55 Family Trees and Their Complexity

16:43 The Importance of Family Connections

18:01 Tracing Family History

21:07 Unique Family Names and Their Origins

22:28 Surname Origins and Commonality

25:58 Gender-Neutral Family Terms

27:07 Concluding Thoughts

All music on this podcast series is provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coined in the 1990s by Linda Stone, Continuous Partial Attention describes the state of being constantly connected; trying to do multiple things at once, which often leads to an ever-present, low-level form of stress. We explore how this phenomenon affects modern life, compare it to multitasking, and discuss both its positive and negative aspects. The podcast also highlights how technology has exacerbated this issue and considers potential solutions, such as mindfulness and turning off notifications, to better manage one's attention.

Links to stuff we discussed:

Dan Kahneman

Mind Over Tech

Video of Woman who Walks into Fountain Whilst Texting

The Film: Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Other Sketches and podcast episodes referenced:

Phubbing episode and sketch

Phone Zombie sketch

Hegel's Dialectic: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis sketch

Yak Shaving episode and sketch

5 Ways to Wellbeing episode and sketch

Everyone's a Geek About Something episode and sketch

How to Instantly Feel Better episode and sketch

Picking the Perfect Present episode and sketch

Buy Jono's Book: Big Ideas, Little Pictures, for a loved one this Christmas - The Perfect Present and then some...

Summary

00:00 Introduction to Continuous Partial Attention

01:31 Depicting Continuous Partial Attention in a Sketch

04:25 Personal Experiences with Continuous Partial Attention

05:54 The Impact of Technology on Attention

08:49 Multitasking vs. Continuous Partial Attention

11:15 The Challenge of Staying Focused

17:05 The Role of Continuous Partial Attention in Different Professions

20:38 The Dilemma of Turning Off Notifications

21:15 Balancing Work and Family Life

22:03 The Art of Multitasking

22:59 The Pitfalls of Continuous Partial Attention

23:49 Turning Cognition into Automation

25:25 The Rise of Single Tasking

27:54 The Productivity of Focused Work

32:07 The Future of AI and Continuous Partial Attention

34:20 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

All music on this podcast is provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's your life expectancy trade-off for enjoying a crispy bacon sandwich? 🥓

Sir David Spiegelhalter is a celebrated Professor of Statistics at the University of Cambridge; widely accepted as one of the UK's foremost statisticians. He explains the concepts of 'micromorts' and 'microlives', which quantify risk and the impact of lifestyle choices on life expectancy. The discussion delves into acute vs. chronic risks, with practical examples such as the dangers of skydiving or how regular smoking affects longevity of life. The conversation also covers the application of statistics in medicine, the importance of randomisation in clinical trials, and the philosophical underpinnings of uncertainty. Additionally, David highlights the human capacity to judge risks, the pitfalls of intuition, and offers practical advice on dealing with uncertainty in everyday life. Lively anecdotes, insightful explanations, and practical takeaways make this episode a compelling listen for anyone interested in the intersection of statistics, risk, and daily decision-making.

David's latest book, The Art of Uncertainty is available in all good bookshops and online.

Here are some useful links to further explore some topics raised:

• The work of Ron Howard at Stanford University
• Jono's sketch on Word Spectrums
• David's many other books - including Sex by Numbers
• Poisson Distribution explained
• David tells the tale of Persi Diaconis - the Mathemagician.

Episode Summary:

00:00 Introduction, David's Background & Achievements

01:43 The Wipeout Experience

03:13 Understanding Micro-Morts

04:27 Acute vs. Chronic Risks

05:29 Micro-Morts in Everyday Activities

12:05 Introduction to Micro-Lives

18:03 Medical Applications of Data and Statistics

21:27 The Role of Uncertainty in Life

27:52 Building Resilience Over Robustness

29:18 Embracing Uncertainty in Life

33:35 Misuse of Statistics in Media and Politics

40:30 The Gamblers Fallacy and Intuition

42:29 The Uniqueness of Card Shuffles

45:43 Common Misconceptions About Probability

48:02 Practical Tips for Dealing with Uncertainty

51:33 Final Thoughts and Reflections

All music is provided by Franc Cinelli.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This genius time management hack was conceived by Francesco Cirillo. The technique involves working for 25 minutes followed by a mandatory 5-minute break, repeating this cycle three to four times before taking a longer break. We share our personal attempts at using the method, explore the psychology behind productive work cycles, the importance of taking breaks and reflect on its effectiveness in both office and home environments. We also discuss the broader context of productivity obsession and share insights from using related tools eg. online "focus buddies". The session concludes with a follow-up on how the Pomodoro Technique has worked for them a week after recording the episode, reenforcing a lot of the theory we originally set out.

Could this be our favourite procrastination buster yet!?!

External links

In the episode we reference a number of items you can find out more on here:

• Previous podcast episodes came up a lot (procrastination is a recurring theme for us): How to Instantly Feel Better; Yak Shaving; Goldilocks Tasks & The Fresh Start Effect
• Remarkably, there's currently no sketch for it, but Jono talks about The Red Queen Effect or Hypothesis - the concept of having to run to stay still.
• The Bear Focus Timer (used by Jono and now Tom as well). Available on Apple Store
• Examples of Focus Buddy or Accountability Partner websites include Focus Mate and Flow Club.

Episode Summary

00:00 Introduction to Sketchplanations Podcast

00:29 Exploring the Pomodoro Technique

01:03 Origins and Basics of the Pomodoro Technique

02:57 Implementing the Pomodoro Technique in the Office

07:23 Challenges and Adaptations of the Pomodoro Technique

17:10 Alternative Productivity Methods

18:53 Accountability and Shame in Productivity

19:40 Origins of the Pomodoro Technique

20:17 Applying Pomodoro in Different Environments

21:32 Psychological Benefits of Time Blocking

22:38 Challenges and Adaptations in the Office

23:01 Personal Admin and Procrastination

23:22 Flow and Creative Tasks

26:16 Post-pod Findings on Pomodoro Technique Usage

28:44 Final Thoughts and Outro

All music on this podcast series is kindly provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jono meets one of his heroes, as we engage in a conversation with acclaimed author, illustrator and explainer, David Macaulay.

We talk about David's journey from architecture to creating educational illustrations that make complex concepts understandable and engaging - and the Canal Lock is a great example of this from Jono's collection.

We discuss the significance of sketching for understanding and teaching intricate ideas, and reflect on some of David's famous works, including his book, 'The Way Things Work.'

David shares insights into his creative process, the importance of curiosity, and how integrating humour and playfulness in his illustrations can enhance learning.

This conversation would not be complete without questioning David about his famous woolly mammoths - used in his illustrations to help explain machines, mechanics, physics and science. 

Links

See here for more information about David as well as his bibliography.

Jono specifically references David's maths book, Mammoth Maths, when comparing his own sketch on "Parts of a Circle".

When addressing humour in Architecture, David talks about his book "Great Moments in Architecture".

Summary

00:00 Welcome to Sketchplanations - introducing David Macaulay

01:30 David's Journey into Explanations

03:42 The Way Things Work

04:35 The Joy of Learning and Teaching

04:47 Collaborating on The Way Things Work

09:54 Exploring Canal Locks

15:24 The Art of Sketching and Curiosity

20:05 The Importance of Sketching

20:34 Humour in Learning

25:07 The Origin of the Woolly Mammoth in David’s drawings

26:37 Balancing Humour and Information

30:07 Encouraging Sketching in Education

33:30 Everyday Wonders and Final Thoughts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When describing something with numerous adjectives (eg. the big brown dog, the heavy square steel door) there's a natural order we all instinctively follow as english speakers. I don't remember ever being taught it, nor would I be able to explain it to you, but my ear can definitely tell if someone gets it wrong!

English adjectives follow a specific order. Who Knew?!?

Well, there's one person for sure:

What our special guest on this episode, award-winning author, journalist, and etymologist, Mark Forsyth, doesn't know about the English language, simply isn't worth knowing.

In our conversation, Mark breaks down the correct traditional ordering of adjectives. And Mark's passion for the English language becomes clear as he walks us through other nuances of English, such as Ablaut Reduplication (why it's Zig Zag and Splish-Splash rather than Zag-Zig or Splash-Splish), Chiasmus (inverting phrases in a speech eg. “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address (1961)) and many more.

Additionally, in celebration of Mark's latest book; "Rhyme and Reason : A short history of Poetry and People (for people who don’t usually read poetry)" we talk about the history of poetry and its impact on readers from medieval times to the present. We learn how poetry was once widely shared and enjoyed socially (a bit like sharing memes on social media today) and how English has natural cadences and rhythm to it, that we all make use of every day - again, without having a clue that we're doing it. And we also learn why most of us have been thinking about poetry all wrong ever since school.

In the episode, we also reference Mark's other books such as The Etymologist and The Elements of Eloquence, which can all be found here.

And you can follow Mark's musings and love of language on his blog as The Inky Fool, on Twitter, and on Instagram.

Episode Summary

00:00 Welcome & Introduction to Mark Forsyth: Wordsmith Extraordinaire

01:05 Mark Forsyth's Journey with the English Language

01:44 The Fascinating World of Words and Their Origins

02:27 Mark Forsyth's Books and Their Unique Insights

06:32 The Popularity of Poetry Through the Ages

11:06 The Decline of Poetry and Rise of Pop Lyrics

12:48 Exploring English Syntax and Adjective Order

15:03 The Intricacies of English Grammar

21:38 Fun with Language: Reduplication and Compounds

27:38 Rhyme and Reason: Poetry in Society

29:27 The Unsung Heroes of Songwriting

30:42 The Evolution of Poetry's Popularity

41:33 The Rhythms of English Language

50:54 The Charm of Limericks

54:49 The Joy of Reading Poetry Aloud

56:45 Closing Thoughts and Farewell

All music on this podcast series is provided by the wonderfully talented Franc Cinelli.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time we discuss Jevons' Paradox, the counterintuitive concept that improvements in fuel efficiency can lead to increased overall fuel use.

We explore the origin of this idea, dating back to 1865 by British economist William Stanley Jevons, and discuss its relevance today in areas such as car fuel efficiency, advances in battery technology, and even the proliferation of LED lighting in homes. Inevitably, the impact of emerging technologies like AI also arise. We also talk about the broader implications of Jevons' Paradox in everyday life and business, and how it can be managed through policies and smart design.

Quick Links

Some links are included below to certain topics we reference in the chat:

• Other Sketchplanations referenced include: The Generalised Peter Principle, The Peter Principle, The Laws of Expansion
• You can also listen to our previous podcast on The Peter Principle.
• More Work For Mother book by Ruth Cowan

Summary

00:00 Introduction to Sketchplanations Podcast

00:33 Exploring Jevons Paradox

01:11 Historical Context of Jevons Paradox

02:37 Modern Examples of Jevons Paradox

05:14 Personal Anecdotes and Parallels

10:12 AI and Future Implications

15:29 Energy Demands of AI and Nuclear Facilities

15:51 The Evolution of Spreadsheets and Work Efficiency

17:07 Jevons Paradox and Environmental Concerns

17:29 Advancements in Battery and Water-Saving Technologies

19:33 The Impact of Video Compression on the Internet

21:47 LED Lights and Household Energy Consumption

24:27 Government Policies and Behavioral Incentives

26:10 Reflections on Jevons Paradox and Human Nature

28:26 William Stanley Jevons' Insights and Predictions

30:06 Conclusion and Farewell

All music on this podcast series is provided by the very talented Franc Cinelli.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you like using interesting words in your conversations? We do. And there's one that's a tip top favourite...

You're guaranteed* to learn loads of interesting words from this episode.

Special guest Grant Snider - author, illustrator, poet (and orthodontist) talks about the illustration of interesting words, particularly obscure, outdated or esoteric ones. We kick off with a word both Jono and Grant have illustrated: 'apricity,' which means the warmth of the sun in winter and is a big favourite of ours - now that we know it. Grant shares his fascination with words and his 'Words of Wonder' series, where he illustrates intriguing words from his readings. We touch on the emotional connection words can create through compelling illustrations and delve into the creative processes behind these illustrations as well as the influence of childhood comics like Calvin and Hobbes.

Links for further investigation

• Apricity sketches: Jono's Sketchplanation & Grant's Words of Wonder
• Some other of Jono's word-related Sketchplanations we reference are: Snerdle & Greeble
• Previous podcast episodes we bring up include: Schadenfreude and we also talk about Apophenia in the episode on Crossmodal Perception
• Susie Dent's Word of the Day thread on X.
• Jono mentions the fun he had reading Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth
• Grant's latest book Thinking About Thinking is available now.

Episode Summary

00:00 Introduction and Grant Snider's Background

02:18 Exploring the Word 'Apricity'

04:34 Grant's Words of Wonder Series

07:24 The Joy of Learning New Words

11:24 Favourite Words and Their Illustrations

20:28 Exploring Obscure Words and Their Origins

21:16 The Fascinating Concept of 'Greeble'

22:50 The Joy of Discovering New Words

23:52 Sketching Words and Their Meanings

28:22 The Beauty of Children's Language Development

30:35 Grant's New Book: Thinking About Thinking

33:46 The Influence of Calvin and Hobbes

37:04 Grant's Unique Use of Colour in Comics

39:26 Final Thoughts and Upcoming Projects

*We make no actual guarantees.

All music on this podcast series is provided by the highly talented Franc Cinelli

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we return from our summer break we discuss various ways to instantly feel better - timely perhaps for the Big Back to Work / School / Normality of September. We explore eight emotions—anger, burnout, overthinking, anxiety, stress, sadness, impatience, and laziness—and suggest instant proactive remedies to each. We highly encourage you to try these out whenever you're feeling any of the emotions discussed. Let us know if they work.

Here are links to a few items we refer to in the chat:

• We reference a couple of previous podcast episodes: The Awkwardness Vortex, 5 Ways to Wellbeing
• In reference to when you're feeling anxious you can try Box Breathing.
• If all else fails, with any of these emotions you can instantly make yourself feel better by Walking in Nature.
• Gorefest: The Dutch (not Belgian as wrongly I said in the podcast) Death Metal band from the 90s who to the casual listener, their singing might sound like screaming.
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. in reference to writing your "morning pages".

Episode Summary

00:00 Welcome Back to Sketchplanations

00:53 Instant Ways to Feel Better

03:16 The Power of Singing to Dispel Anger

08:19 Walking Off Burnout

11:46 Writing to Stop Overthinking

16:20 Breathing Techniques for Anxiety

20:49 The Power of Exercise for Stress Relief

25:22 Gratitude as a Remedy for Sadness

28:18 Reflecting on Progress to Combat Impatience

30:56 Cold Showers to Overcome Laziness

33:50 Final Thoughts and Takeaways

All music on this podcast series is provided by the highly talented Franc Cinelli

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.