Every explanation is a representation of something larger.
Maps, diagrams, words, models, photographs and equations help people think by selecting some features of the world and leaving others out.
- Ask what the representation preserves.
- Notice what it hides or simplifies.
- Choose a form suited to the task.
- Compare multiple representations when one view is insufficient.
- Return to the world when the representation becomes misleading.
The goal is not a perfect picture of everything. It is a representation good enough for the reader to make the right distinctions.