7  Organization

This book is structured into three main parts which form the core of our model for STEM communication and are named in an alliterative style — Model, Mode, Manner. This is followed by two complementary parts — Make & Master which go beyond the foundation set by the model and discuss practical strategies for every-day implementation and teaching, respectively.

Establishing a mental model for the role of communcation in STEM fields.

  • Introduction
    • From Analytical Thinking to Systems Thinking
    • Mathematical Model of Communication
    • Differences in thinking among STEM disciplines
  • Barriers to Communication
    • Back to Basics
    • Skeptical of Story-telling
    • The Joy of Boring
    • Information Unifers
    • Elementary Units
    • Key Themes
  • Breaking down Barriers
    • Realization 1: The myth of hard & soft skills
    • Consequence 1: Raising the status of soft skills
    • Realization 2: The myth of hard & soft sciences
    • Consequence 2: Rebranding Sciences
  • A Modern Synthesis
    • Building Models
    • Fine-tuning Models
    • Functional Comm
    • A Useful Framework
  • Story-telling and Data Literacy
    • What are they and when to worry about them

Understanding the many facets of the 6 modes of communication.

  • Intangible
    • Receiver
    • Psycho-social-cultural
    • File formats
  • Visible
    • Dimensions
    • Color
    • Perception
    • Sketch Notes
    • Diagrams
    • Data Visualization
    • Visual Identity
    • (Graphic) Design
    • Writing
    • Typography
    • Reading
    • Body Language
  • Audible
    • Speaking
    • Listening
    • Hearing
  • Invisible
    • Branding
    • Story-telling
  • Inaudible
    • Allusion
    • Constraints
  • Tangible
    • Physical

In this part we build upon the foundations laid out in part II and begin building communication tasks which are combinations of the various modes. That is, this part deals with all manner in which we combine the modes.

  • Design Thinking
  • Research Articles
  • Project Reports
  • Documentation
  • Presentations
  • Persuasion
  • Conversation
  • Teaching
  • Learning
  • Feedback
  • Interactivity
  • Animations
  • Questions

Technical Implementation of parts I - III.

  • Automating communication tasks with workflows
  • Using popular type-setting languages
  • A survey of modern frameworks for templating and composition

Thoughts and lecture plans for teaching the material in parts I - IV.


It already exists in this context, which is why it would be great to use it. But, it could lead to resistance in adopting the idea as I’d like to use it if people feel it is comparing their complex thing described as a model with a simplistic thing elsewhere.

How about a representation? This is a good alternative, and indeed everything in communication is a representation of a tangible or intangible object – an are many other parts of our lives and society. These representations make it easier to work with those objects, but this term may not appeal if that word is used is specifics contexts for a person’s work already. Both model and representation give the impression it that there could be some kind of real-world physical object, adding unnecessary confusion.

I like the term simple approximations, or the neologism Simprox. Simple because they are necessarily a reduction in complexity. Having that as part of the name, reinforces that. Approximation because they are not 100% accurate predictors, 100% of the time, nor would that necessarily be desirable. Indeed the ability to be wrong allows room for error and they are anyway not designed to be 100% accurate.


I choose Manner because it evokes the following properties:

  • Flexibility, in that it can accommodate all practical manifestations or deep abstractions.
  • Curiosity, in the question of how, and possibly why.
  • Civility, as in well-mannered, considerate.

Alliterative alternatives which were discarded include:

  • Method, or Material:
    • Too rigid
    • Evokes:
      • Protocol → fixed steps
      • Clinical → Impersonal
  • Media:
    • Confusing term
      • Multiple uses in different fields
      • Emotionally & politically charged in some cases
      • Evokes questions of ownership, bias, history