--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The key to making things understandable…" description: "\"The key to making things understandable is to understand what it’s like not to understand.\" — Richard Saul Wurman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png" --- # The key to making things understandable is to understand… ![“The key to making things understandable is to understand what it’s like not to understand.” quote by Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png) > “The key to making things understandable is to understand what it’s like not to understand.” [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding how confusion feels is essential to explaining concepts clearly. **In simple terms:** Know the learner’s confusion to teach effectively. Key Takeaway Teach from the learner’s perspective. Themes education communication clarity empathy design Mood empathetic practical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - technical writing - product design - training sessions Key Concepts cognitive psychology instructional design Questions to Reflect On - How can you gauge others’ confusion? - What methods reveal hidden misunderstandings? A Different Perspective Assuming knowledge can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Like Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-understand-1146512/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Things Understandable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-understandable-3900923/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Understand Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-like-496297/) [Understandable Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understandable-understand-4353822/) ## Related quotes > [Talking about things that are understandable only weighs down the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jarry/talking-about-things-that-are-understandable-only-weighs-down-the-mind/) [Alfred Jarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jarry/) > [No one but people like me can understand the importance of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smriti-irani/no-one-but-people-like-me-can-understand-the-importance-of-education/) [Smriti Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smriti-irani/) > [God is enough like us to understand our problems and enough above us to be able to solve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/god-is-enough-like-us-to-understand-our-problems-and-enough-above-us/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [I would like to understand my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-would-like-to-understand-my-father/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [“He say how the country will thanks us one day and we nod like we understand. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/he-say-how-the-country-will-thanks-us-one-day-and-we-nod-like-we/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [“...there is something about understanding that comforts me, even if I don't like what I understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-walker/there-is-something-about-understanding-that-comforts-me-even-if-i-don/) [Wendy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-walker/) > [I feel like I understand you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-feel-like-i-understand-you/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I would like to understand things better, but I don’t want to understand them perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-like-to-understand-things-better-but-i-don-t-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People like to understand and categorize things in order to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-riemelt/people-like-to-understand-and-categorize-things-in-order-to-understand/) [Max Riemelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-riemelt/) > [Everybody wants to identify things about a poet or about a playwright. They want to codify something or put it in terms that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-zerbe/everybody-wants-to-identify-things-about-a-poet-or-about-a-playwright/) [Anthony Zerbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-zerbe/) > [A child like you would never understand what I hope to achieve! =B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princeazheef/a-child-like-you-would-never-understand-what-i-hope-to-achieve-b/) [PrinceAzheef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princeazheef/) > [It's like I understand images and some people understand poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/it-s-like-i-understand-images-and-some-people-understand-poetry/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [It's nice the know the computer understands the situation, but I would like to understand it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-wigner/it-s-nice-the-know-the-computer-understands-the-situation-but-i-would/) [Eugene Wigner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-wigner/) > [MANY People LIKE you but Understand ONLY ONE PERSON LOVE you the MOST](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/many-people-like-you-but-understand-only-one-person-love-you-the-most/) [Junior Dè Rèál Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-d-r-l-testament/) > [“a part of adolescence is feeling that there's no one else around who's enough like yourself to understand you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/a-part-of-adolescence-is-feeling-that-there-s-no-one-else-around-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More by Richard Saul Wurman > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Allow the information to tell you how it wants to be displayed. As architecture is ‘frozen music’, information architecture is ‘frozen conversation’. Any good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/allow-the-information-to-tell-you-how-it-wants-to-be-displayed-as/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [I live by two credos: If you don't ask, you don't get. And most things don't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/i-live-by-two-credos-if-you-don-t-ask-you-don-t-get-and-most-things/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Everyone spoke of an information overload, but what there was in fact was a non-information overload.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/everyone-spoke-of-an-information-overload-but-what-there-was-in-fact/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Information anxiety is the black hole between data and knowledge, and it happens when information doesn't tell us what we want or need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/information-anxiety-is-the-black-hole-between-data-and-knowledge-and/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [A weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/a-weekday-edition-of-the-new-york-times-contains-more-information/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [People never forget things, they just never remembered it in the first place because it was too boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/people-never-forget-things-they-just-never-remembered-it-in-the-first/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [I am terribly fascinated with things that I don’t understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/i-am-terribly-fascinated-with-things-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [“I believe I’m very normal. I’m hyper-normal. I’m more normal than anyone else I know. I think my thoughts, my indulgences, my desires, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/i-believe-i-m-very-normal-i-m-hyper-normal-i-m-more-normal-than/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Order is no guarantee of understanding. Sometimes just the opposite is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/order-is-no-guarantee-of-understanding-sometimes-just-the-opposite-is/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [The journey from not knowing to knowing was his work. He was selling his desire to learn about a subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/the-journey-from-not-knowing-to-knowing-was-his-work-he-was-selling/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Learning can be defined as the process of remembering what you are interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/learning-can-be-defined-as-the-process-of-remembering-what-you-are/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [You only understand information relative to what you already understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/you-only-understand-information-relative-to-what-you-already/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [People can be motivated to creativity simply with the instruction to "be creative."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/people-can-be-motivated-to-creativity-simply-with-the-instruction-to/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [The fundamental failure of most graphic, product, architectural and even urban design is its insistence on serving the God of Looking-Good rather than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/the-fundamental-failure-of-most-graphic-product-architectural-and/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) [Explore all 31 Richard Saul Wurman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) ## More Funny quotes > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Sometimes I look at my awesome twitter followers & think to myself, What the hell would I do without them :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/sometimes-i-look-at-my-awesome-twitter-followers-think-to-myself-what/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [Congratulations to Facebook on going public with all my private information...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-to-facebook-on-going-public-with-all-my-private/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [I've been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-ve-been-funny-my-whole-life-this-is-a-gift-god-gave-me/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [Penis goes in , sperms cums out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/penis-goes-in-sperms-cums-out/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/) [Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) [Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/) [Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The key to making things understandable is to understand what it’s like not to understand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Saul Wurman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/the-key-to-making-things-understandable-is-to-understand-what-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Funny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/the-key-to-making-things-understandable-is-to-understand-what-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b8/richard-saul-wurman-19944_funny_the-key-to-making-things-understandable_2124988.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The key to making things understandable is to understand what it’s like not to understand.” — Richard Saul Wurman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Saul Wurman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The key to making things understandable...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/the-key-to-making-things-understandable-is-to-understand-what-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/the-key-to-making-things-understandable-is-to-understand-what-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```