Buckets of Water

http://ivan.pedrazas.me/?p=397

by eloycoto • 11 years ago

33 12 11 years ago

ivan.pedrazas.me

agonzalezro2• 11 years ago

I also know an example to explain the arithmetic mean. I have read it somewhere but I don't remember the exact book.

"If I have 2 chickens and you don't have any chicken, in average we both have a chicken, but you are going to be hungrier than me."

ipedrazas3• 11 years ago

Finding these examples is always hard. We should have a collection somewhere.

Like a Tech2Biz dictionary or something like that.

agonzalezro2• 11 years ago

That would be a cool project. Sometimes you need to explain a concept that is difficult for non techies and you don't know how.

Actually, it should be useful as well the other way around. When they talk to me about finance concepts and stuff I get properly lost :D

dredmorbius2• 11 years ago

See also, Wittgenstein's Ladder ("lie to children"). At Wikipedia (via its general principles and policies docs).

gk1• 11 years ago

Here's one I like:

You wouldn't want to walk across a river that's 4 feet deep _on average_.

---

First read it from N.N. Taleb, not sure if he came up with it.

I use it to explain to clients why "average" metrics in analytics tools are useless if you're not specific enough.

lukasm• 11 years ago

Why not closet and documents?

ipedrazas3• 11 years ago

As well, the thing is that if water overflows it goes to waste (like losing data), but documents can be picked up and moved to another closet, drawer, table...

htor• 11 years ago

"What's happened with the customers data? It shows up as incomprehensible garbage on the screen!"

"Well, you see - imagine a collection of buckets with water standing on top of each other."

"Uh, yes?"

"The water is flowing into the topmost bucket, slowly filling it up, so when it is full the water fills up the next bucket. This how we designed our state-of-the-art RAID, sir. Now just image someone kicking the bucket in middle out of its position, taking it and pouring its water in to each of the other buckets randomly and then plugging in a second water supply on the top, overflowing the whole bucket stack."

"Oh my god. Please tell me we have a backup of this."

"Okay, so image a bucket pipe going to each.."

"Just call the plumber and stop wasting my time!"

"At once, sir!"

ipedrazas3• 11 years ago

We're all plumbers!!!

dredmorbius2• 11 years ago

See also "Lie-to-children" and Wittgenstein's Ladder.

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie-to-children

A lie-to-children is a simplified explanation of technical or complex subjects as a teaching method for children and laypeople, first described by science writers Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart. The word "children" should not be taken literally, but as encompassing anyone in the process of learning about a given topic regardless of age. It is itself a simplification of certain concepts in the philosophy of science.

Buckets of Water

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