Making sense of complexity

Sarah Firth is a cartoonist and a graphic recorder: someone who sketches up the key points of complex discussions in real time, both to keep people engaged in the moment and to serve as a way of sharing the ideas later. Similar to the excellent RSA Animate whiteboard animation series, she's thought a lot about how to visualise complex ideas in simple ways.

In this long-form cartoon, she explores the urge that has dominated Western societies since the Enlightenment: to reduce complex systems to simple principles. This urge is understandable, but creates its own problems. She counsels us to think more critically about the mental models we use, and become comfortable with the uncertainty that comes with complex systems.