This end should point towards the ground. If it starts pointing towards space you are having a very bad problem and you will not go to space today.
This is rocket science.
And this is how former NASA scientist Randall Monroe explains it using only the 1000 most-commonly used words in English. Monroe challenged himself to describe the blueprint for NASA’s Saturn V Rocket. Unsurprisingly, ‘Saturn’ and ‘rocket’ aren’t on the list and so the up-goer five was born.
Monroe’s description and rocket blueprint drawing are now famous and have cemented the phrase ‘you will not go to space today’ as a perfect tribute to someone having a very bad day…
The up-goer five text editor, inspired by Monroe and created by Theo Sanderson, forces you to explain any idea, no matter how complicated, using only the most commonly used English words.
Here’s how one of our editors used the text editor to describe her job.
I work as a person who makes words better. I am like a word doctor.
Today I’m going to look at some paper with words on it. Someone else has written it but not as well as they could have. I’ll make the words better by throwing some away and changing others. I’ll also look at the order of the words. Are the most important points first? Is there a line of words above each piece of writing that shows the most important point? Does the boring stuff come last? Also, is it clear why the person reading the writing needs to read it? That’s an important thing to make clear.
Once I’ve finished making the writing better, I’ll send it to the person who wrote it. If I’ve done well, they will like what I’ve done and come back for more. Then they will pay us money and I will continue to have a job. That will make me very happy.
Try it out yourself. How would you describe making a cup of tea — milk in first, loose leaf or tea bag, mug or cup, brew, draw or mash? (Hint — probably not many of these words are on the list.) Share your best explanation in the comments below.
But it’s not just a gimmick. Good writers know they need to understand their audience and write for their readers. How much does your reader know already? Do they understand technical terms? Are they upset or under stress? Is English their first or fifth language? How much time do they have to read your information?
Once you’ve thought about your audience, you can choose the right language, volume of information, and the best way to present it.
Here’s an example of a scientist who has really thought about his audience. He discusses the technical neuroscience concept of ‘connectome’ to different people ranging from a five-year-old to another neuroscientist.