- Tana Fis Letters
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- no.6. The Power of Diagrams
Edition no. 6 - March 2nd, 2023
A Diagram is worth 10,000 words.
One (1) high-quality visual representation can make a person understand a concept better than multiple chapters in a book.
Let that sink in for a second.
This is the power that lies within Diagrams…
Yet, unfortunately, most people never experience the pleasure of drawing a diagram to help them (or others) understand a concept.
We live in a fast-paced world where taking some time to draw seems counterproductive. When in reality, diagrams are one of the ultimate sources of clarity and understanding available to men and women on this planet.
Join me and come explore the power of diagrams. ↓
(and, of course, to start drawing some)
💬 4 Quotes
Quote 1
“A good sketch is better than a long speech.”
You may admire or despise Napoleon, but undeniably he was a genius.
This phrase is closely associated with the famous saying: “A picture is worth 1000 words.”
Whether your craft is focused on preparing a battle strategy or outlining a sales pitch (or any other venture)…
A sketch (diagram) will provide a deeper understanding.
The smart modern man gets inspiration from the brilliant minds of the past.
There's a popular saying here in Brazil:
"Don't try to reinvent the wheel."
Use what already works.
Diagrams (sketches) work.
Quote 2
“The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book.”
Drawings (diagrams) are densely packed.
It's (much) harder to draw a good diagram than it is to write a good page.
That's because diagrams are a distilled form of knowledge.
Diagrams are information dense.
They contain knowledge that needs pages of writing to be fully grasped.
Quote 3
“An important tool of the researchers (Watson and Crick's and their discovery that the DNA is a double helix) was building physical models.
(…) They made cardboard cutouts to approximate the shapes of the molecules they knew were part of DNA’s makeup and, like a puzzle, experimented with different ways of putting them together.”
Physical models (diagrams) will make your thinking clearer.
Huge breakthroughs in science would’ve never happened if scientists insisted on using words, instead of opening their minds to new forms of representing knowledge.
What are you waiting for?
Do you aspire to do something great in life?
Well, get your hands ready to draw some diagrams, my friend.
This simple practice will supercharge your ability to understand and communicate complex concepts.
Quote 4
“Leonardo (da Vinci)’s approach to scientific knowledge was visual; it was the approach of the painter. He asserted repeatedly that painting involves the study of natural forms, and he emphasized the intimate connection between the artistic representation of those forms and the intellectual understanding of their intrinsic nature and underlying principles.”
Leonardo da Vinci was (at least) 500 years ahead of his time.
Part of this elevated understanding came from his artistic expression.
Da Vinci would understand complex concepts and systems much better and much faster than anyone else because he would draw.
Drawing is a Right Brain activity.
You will ONLY unleash your full potential by using both sides of your brain.
📄 3 Notes
1. Why Diagrams (Images) are Powerful
The 4 quotes from the last section all work in favor of this argument. So instead of providing more of the same arguments, let's go for a quick story:
🗓️ It's February 2022.
I'm finishing up "what I'm considering to be,” the final version of my Master's Thesis Proposal.
Moments later, I submit it to my supervisor.
Eventually, the feedback arrives:
All good! Except for one (massive) problem.
He didn't understand anything.
My Thesis was about a very specific niche (Natural Language Processing applied to Personal Knowledge Management), and I knew much more about it than my supervisor did, as I'd already been researching it for over a year.
I thought I was explaining everything clearly with my beautiful pages full of words… But I wasn't.
Words were not enough.
Fortunately, my supervisor told me what was missing. As an experienced researcher, he immediately knew what the problem was:
I was missing Images and Examples.
These are essential elements to clearly convey a message.
He told me that without images and concrete examples, the board would not understand my work.
The Lesson here is:
People (you included) understand through Images and Examples.
You may understand a subject better than anyone in the world, but if you don't use examples to convey the message, your message will be isolated from everyone else.
This valuable lesson is glued to my brain since that moment.
Diagrams make you understand concepts better, and help people understand you better.
2. The 4 Basic Knowledge Representations
As part of my Thesis, I researched the fundamental ways that humans represent knowledge.
I came to 1 universal representation and other 3 basic representations.
The Universal representation:
Classical Logic
Knowledge is conveyed using predicates, or affirmations. Logic may be portrayed using words and equations.
The other 3 basic representations:
Spatial Models
Visual, spatial representation of information. All encoded knowledge is visually accessible.
Feature Models
Use of symbols to represent different types of information. A symbol may be a drawn symbol that represents something or a visual cue that indicates you to look at (navigate to) another place.
Network Models
Use of a graph structure (nodes and links) to convey knowledge. A network's structure of nodes and links, together with the labels (features)
(Extra) Semantic Networks
Semantic Networks derive from Network models. Semantic Networks can model structured relations (and nodes) as well as the propagation of these relations.
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It's worth noting that these representations are not conflicting with one another. Instead, representations share a strong overlap.
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Why does this matter?
A great Diagram will encompass the 3 basic representations:
All diagrams are Spatial by essence.
Diagrams with links rely on the Network model.
Diagrams with different symbols use the Feature model.
3. My 5 Favorite Diagrams
1. CODE Framework
One of Tiago Forte's trademark diagrams. This diagram is phenomenal!
This diagram beautifully explains the creative process with a beginning, middle, and end, while also portraying additional information regarding divergence and convergence.
2. OODA Loop
The OODA was created by John Boyd for the Air Force military operations, but it's wonderful for decision-making and applies across other domains of life.
There’s a vast amount of knowledge contained in this diagram.
3. AI → ML → NLP
A simple diagram in a Thesis by Sidharth Mehra in Research Gate that explains the relationship between Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing.
4. Polymath's "T"
I got this one from Michael Simmons in a text about Modern Polymaths.
It's a very simple diagram, literally just the letter "T", that represents a fascinating framework for skill acquisition and specialization.
5. Twin cycles of elite performance
This one is from Robin Sharma's book, 5AM Club.
The Twin cycles of elite performance are High Excellence (Efficiency) and Deep Refueling (Rest). It's here to say that without rest, you can't sustain high efficiency.
It's something I never forgot and often reference on multiple occasions.
🔗 2 Links
This week's links are tools you can use to draw diagrams!
I absolutely recommend you draw diagrams by hand!
This is a valuable practice that actually activates the neurological circuits of physically drawing something.
But digital diagrams can be highly efficient to portray knowledge to other people, so here we go:
Link 1: Excalidraw
Excalidraw is a Free tool to draw diagrams.
They also work as extensions to note-taking apps, such as Obsidian and Roam Research.
Link 2: Lucid Chart
Lucid Chart is a paid tool. It's very complete in its features and options.
From brainstorming and Class Diagrams to flowcharts and team workflows.
Bonus Link: Canva Templates
Many people don't explore this, but Canva has some insane templates.
Below I share a link to my favorite section (Business → Graph), but there are other nice sections worth exploring:
(Business → Graph)
Business → Presentation
Business → Whiteboard
Business → Mind Map
Education → Presentation
Education → Infographic
Education → Whiteboard
Education → Worksheet
That's it. Thank you for reading!
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See you next week, my friend!
Cheers,
Fis