The antithesis principle — why the best explanations start with what something isn't

Dan writes about a trick that sounds simple but is hard to get right: explain something by saying what it isn't, not just what it is.

A single net isn't just a line — it's a line without stubs, with clearance, with a thickness. A router that produces one net at a time is a different beast from a router that produces the whole board in one shot. You can tell which one you're looking at by the holes it leaves.

The article is worth a read because it shows the principle in action, not just name-checking it. The examples all do the same thing — they carve out the edges of a concept by negation — and the pattern is clear enough to use on your own writing.

Why this matters for us: cuando escribes para la gente, a veces lo más claro es decir primero lo que no es — les ahorra el tiempo de adivinar en qué dirección va la cosa.