I've been re-watching the Sky drama series Chernobyl, and last night I got to the courtroom scene. The bit where Valery Legasov explains how the explosion happened, using red and blue acrylic tablets placed on a window-frame-type-thing was just virtuosic! Way better than PowerPoint!
There must be a reason why an explanation that uses actual physical objects (in this case, acrylic coloured tiles) lands better than an explanation that uses images on a screen. My theory is that if you're trying to explain a process that's complex, then you can somehow 'ground' that explanation if you've got artefacts with you taht you touch and move as you speak.
Complex concepts exist high up the ladder of abstraction. So if you want to have your explanation understood by people who are not so comfortabel in that world of abstract concepts, you can create the illusion of concrete-ness by using physical objects as evidence. People will respond more warmly to your efforts to make the thing real.
[20 September 2024]