Explain Like I'm Five · by Sophie Gagnon · 2026-10-09

Questions got easier when I stopped treating them like an exam

I’m trying to make explainers feel less intimidating. I wanted all the fancy tools, but a notebook, a reminder and a clumsy first draft worked better. Questions got easier when I stopped treating every attempt like a final exam. I wrote down what worked and what felt awkward.

22 sparks · 7 comments

Comments

Mateo Cruz · 5 likes

that is a good question for people with more experience than me. The beautiful part is easy to underestimate

Gentle Lantern · 2 likes

There’s a hidden assumption here that not everyone shares. Curious whether explainers still feel good next month.

Mara Fischer · 0 likes

anecdote beats theory here

Ananya Rao · 0 likes

Beautifully put. I needed that reminder today.

Tiny Orbit · 0 likes

The best answer in the thread, honestly

Nicolás Díaz · 0 likes

Interesting. I would like to see how it changes after 4 months. I learned that one teh expensive way

Minji Kim · 0 likes

Big fan of this approach.