What makes a word explanation good?

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  • Establishes the prerequisites/background the reader needs, and then builds on that background
  • Simulates the reader's inexperienced state of mind
    • Anticipates common misinterpretations/misconceptions and counters them
    • Does not assume infinite working memory (what goes wrong when this is violated: Unbounded working memory assumption in explanations)
    • When different words/terms/phrases are used to point to the same idea, this is explicitly pointed out (synonyms are very common even in technical fields!)
    • When the same word/term/phrase is used to refer to different ideas, this is pointed out (this is also very common even in technical fields!)
  • Considers all or many permutations of ideas (see permutation trick for a similar idea)
  • Alternates between concrete and abstract
  • Actually gives a precise/technical/gears-level/mechanistic model for the reader to tinker with
  • Opens with the motivation for studying the topic, the "so what"; gives motivation for steps throughout

See also