Explain Like I'm Five · by Felix Weber · 2026-10-08
Keeping questions simple helped me follow through
716 sparks · 89 comments
Explain Like I'm Five · by Felix Weber · 2026-10-08
716 sparks · 89 comments
Tiny Comet · 112 likes
That’s an elegant way to frame it. I keep notes about keeping things simple for this reason.
Ngozi Bello · 77 likes
That’s the kind of detail beginners miss.
Tiny Fern · 30 likes
Can you expand on that a bit?
Felix Weber · 11 likes
@quiet_river72 That is fair, but I still worry about maintenance
Rohan Mehta · 40 likes
Big fan of this approach.
Lina Al Harbi · 30 likes
That sounds great until you add children/pets/deadlines
Urban Atlas · 10 likes
Beautifully concise
Felix Weber · 11 likes
my wallet felt that
Cedar Otter · 4 likes
Thanks that actually helped
Sara Ahmed · 1 likes
Now I want a spreadsheet
Amir Tan · 8 likes
Thanks for making it less intimidating
Salma Idrissi · 40 likes
No strong take, but the preparation detail is useful.
Arif Hasan · 10 likes
@tiny_salma That sounds great until you add children/pets/deadlines
Rohan Mehta · 36 likes
really good advice, and it feels doable. A little friction removed goes a long way
Isha Menon · 30 likes
Love the tiny experiment energy. I keep a note about questions for exactly this reason
Maya Williams · 30 likes
That last line is excellent.
Beatriz Sousa · 28 likes
There is a hidden assumption here that not everyone shares. I care less about the perfect answer and more about repeatability
Rohan Mehta · 27 likes
Helpful and not preachy, which is rare. The simple version wins for me.
Nicolás Díaz · 20 likes
I’d want one more question answered before choosing an approach. Follow-through matters more than the perfect plan.
Isha Menon · 1 likes
@nicolasrides Small caveat: context changes the answer a lot
Brian Otieno · 20 likes
great point, especially the part about boring
Finn Brown · 19 likes
I am cheering for this update
Zofia Kowalska · 17 likes
I appreciate the honest middle stage, not just the polished ending.
Aisha Rahman · 27 likes
my wallet felt that
Paper River · 15 likes
This is the gentle version of my rant
Noah Johansson · 14 likes
The vibe here is immaculate. I needed this reminder today.
Rapid Rider · 13 likes
Beautifully put. I needed that reminder today. That’s the kind of detail beginners miss.
Tomás Gómez · 5 likes
my wallet felt that
Noah Johansson · 12 likes
What did you try before this? The setup matters.
Rapid Coder · 13 likes
Small caveat: context changes the answer a lot
Paolo Garcia · 9 likes
Can you expand on that a bit?
Camila Soto · 12 likes
This is the kind of useful internet I still show up for.
Piotr Zieliński · 3 likes
Same here. It took me too long to learn
Faisal Al Saud · 10 likes
Maybe, but the tradeoff seems bigger than the post suggests. That is where the boring checklist helps
Felix Weber · 16 likes
@mango_noodle81 Fair pushback
Minji Kim · 8 likes
noted, and thank you
Valentina Ruiz · 10 likes
I like the idea, but the setup probably matters. I keep notes about keeping things simple for this reason.
Maya Putri · 10 likes
Fair point but I had the opposite experience
Ananya Rao · 8 likes
This sounds sensible, though I would need to test it myself
Isha Menon · 10 likes
I am stealing that phrase
Ananya Rao · 15 likes
@in_sparrow2 Appreciate the nuance
Imogen Clarke · 4 likes
@in_sparrow2 That is the part people skip
Maja Wiśniewska · 8 likes
There’s a hidden assumption here that not everyone shares.
Ananya Rao · 8 likes
Anecdotally, this tracks with what I’ve seen. Noticed the same thing in Lisbon.
Felix Weber · 4 likes
noted, and thank you
Grace Parker · 8 likes
I wonder how much of this depends on timing. My friend tried it in Buenos Aires and had teh opposite result
Rohan Mehta · 8 likes
I disagree a bit. Expectations are usually the bigger issue. I noticed the same thing in Melbourne.
Omar Hassan · 1 likes
This comment has main-character footnote energy
Isha Menon · 8 likes
Can you share what you tried before this? The low-effort version is probably the keeper
Avery Johnson · 7 likes
I wonder how much depends on timing.
Finn Brown · 16 likes
fair pushback
Hugo Sánchez · 9 likes
You just saved me a bad purchase
Silver Rider · 7 likes
I would push back gently on the boring part. I learned that one the expensive way
Ren Suzuki · 7 likes
This is genuinely helpful, thanks for writing it out
Gentle Noodle · 7 likes
I love this. It feels practical without pretending life is neat. I would write it down before changing anything else
Arif Hasan · 6 likes
Fair point, but I had the opposite experience.
Noah Campbell · 6 likes
I disagree a bit. Expectations are usually the bigger issue.
Mariana Costa · 6 likes
Honestly, great taste. I used to overcomplicate this constantly
Urban River · 6 likes
There’s a hidden assumption here that not everyone shares. That’s where the boring checklist helps.
Maya Putri · 5 likes
What did you try before this? I used to overcomplicate this constantly.
Rohan Mehta · 5 likes
Mildly negative take: the simple version is sometimes just underexplained. I care less about the perfect answer and more about repeatability
Hugo Sánchez · 5 likes
The boring logistics are always the hidden part.
Quiet Atlas · 5 likes
That’s the kind of detail beginners miss. Follow-through matters more than the perfect plan.
Hana Choi · 5 likes
Beautifully put. I needed that reminder today.
Liam Eriksson · 11 likes
This is the kind of disagreement I like
Mateo Cruz · 4 likes
That is a good question for people with more experience than me
Bianca Santos · 4 likes
I found this disappointing becuase it skips the hardest part. My friend tried it in Cape Town and had the opposite result
An Pham · 4 likes
interesting. I would like to see how it changes after 7 months. This is where I would ask one more question before choosing
Mariam Said · 4 likes
What happened after the first week? Did it stay easy? The simple version wins for me. Kinder advice than most of the internet manages.
Paolo Garcia · 4 likes
There’s probably a middle ground. I’d make the first step visible too.
Felix Weber · 13 likes
Beautifully concise
Grace Parker · 4 likes
this reminds me of something a friend in Istanbul mentioned. I care less about the perfect answer and more about repeatability
Faisal Al Saud · 3 likes
Really good advice, and it feels doable. Would love a follow-up after two weeks.
Avery Johnson · 3 likes
People have such different constraints. More useful on a tiring commute than a perfect day.
Chloe Davis · 12 likes
The best answer in the thread, honestly
Haruto Sato · 8 likes
anecdote beats theory here
Aoi Ito · 3 likes
This is adorable and oddly motivating. It sounds small but the setup matters
Maya Williams · 2 likes
That last line is excellent. Interested in how it works on a lunch break.
Lucía García · 2 likes
I get the appeal, but I’d be careful treating it as the best option. I keep a note about learning for this reason.
Nusrat Akter · 2 likes
No strong take, but keeping the setup simple seems useful.
Tiny Comet · 1 likes
I wouldn’t call it wrong, just incomplete.
Jan Nowak · 49 likes
I laughed, but you are not wrong
Oussama Alaoui · 3 likes
That sounds great until you add children/pets/deadlines
Isha Menon · 1 likes
fair point, but I had the opposite experience. This is where I would ask one more question before choosing. This is kinder advice than most of the internet manages
Aarav Sharma · 15 likes
Now I want a spreadsheet
Achieng Njeri · 1 likes
The kindness in this post is lovely. My only addition is to make the first step visible. The follow-through matters more than the perfect plan
Chloe Davis · 1 likes
that is a surprisingly elegant way to frame it. That is the kind of detail beginners miss
Beatriz Sousa · 1 likes
My first thought was cost, then time, then whether I would remember to do it. It sounds small, but the practice run matters
Maya Williams · 1 likes
I keep a note about explainers for this reason.