Big ideas, explained in comics

1. 1

   Your plant is losing its leaves, so you ask a chatbot such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and press Send.

Your plant is losing its leaves, so you ask ChatGPT. A sure answer shows up in seconds. Let's see who really writes it, and where the words come from.

Know where ChatGPT's answers come from, and when to double-check its plant advice.

1. 1

   It is Miva's birthday, and your flat is full. Rono puts a short video on your TV: two teams pass basketballs, and everyone must count the passes of the team in white.

A video asks you to count basketball passes. You get the count right, and you miss a gorilla that walks across the screen. Let's see how your eyes can look right at something and never see it.

Learn why your eyes can miss a gorilla, then try the test on your friends.

1. 1

   First comes a football video. Your thumb sends it away before a second has passed.

You haven't liked a single video or followed anyone. Ten minutes later, TikTok seems to know you better than your friends do. Let's see what gave you away.

Find out what TikTok learns about you, and how to steer your own feed.

1. 1

   You keep the accounts of a small furniture workshop, and Miva, who runs it, is your boss. On Friday at four, this email from her lands on your phone.

An email from your boss asks you to pay a supplier today. It looks real, but she never sent it. Let's see how anyone can put any name on an email.

Spot a fake email from your boss before it costs your company money.

1. 1

   Rono sells noodles from a stall at the night market. Your bowl costs $8, and he holds out a small machine for your card: his payment terminal.

You tap your card for an $8 bowl of noodles, and the screen says Approved. Let's see the questions your card answers before that word shows up.

Know what happens in the two seconds after you tap, and explain it to your kids at the checkout.

1. 1

   Miva makes candles, and today her small shop opens online, at candleshop.example. Who would bother to attack a shop this small? Nobody in the world knows it exists yet.

Miva's candle shop opened online this morning. Nobody knows it exists yet, but robots are already knocking. Let's see why hackers go after small websites too.

See your website the way a hacker sees it, and close the doors left open.

1. 1

   You type "a fox reading a newspaper in the snow" into an image generator, an app that makes pictures from words, and press Generate.

You type "a fox reading a newspaper in the snow" and press Generate. A few seconds later, the fox is there. Let's see how a picture that never existed comes out of pure noise.

Understand how an AI draws a picture that never existed, and explain it at the next family dinner.

1. 1

   Miva has found the right pair of shoes and pays for them on her phone, over the free Wi-Fi of a café. At the next table, Rono opens his laptop on the same Wi-Fi.

Miva pays for new shoes over the free Wi-Fi of a café. A stranger at the next table is on the same network. Let's see what he can read, and what HTTPS hides from him.

Know what a stranger can see on café Wi-Fi, and pay online without worry.

1. 1

   Monday, 20 October 2025, just before eight in the morning in London. Three apps on your phone stop at once: your doorbell camera, your bank, your game. Three companies with nothing in common.

One Monday morning, your doorbell, your bank and your game all stop in the same minute. They come from companies that have never worked together. Let's see how one small fault, far away, switched them all off.

Understand why half the internet stops at once, and be the one who explains it on the next outage day.

1. 1

   Miva and Rono started a small company two years ago: an app that lets neighbours lend each other tools. They want you as their first employee, and next to the salary, the offer says 50,000 stock options.

A small startup offers you a job, and next to the salary, 50,000 stock options. It sounds like a lot. Let's see what those options are really worth.

Work out what your stock options are worth before you sign the job offer.

1. 1

   You lead a small team that builds the app of the city marathon. Miva knows the sign-up part best, and Rono knows the results. Race day is close, and the app is late.

Your team's app is late, and race day is close. The boss says: add two more people. Let's see why that can make the app even later.

Understand Brooks' law, and share it with your manager before the next deadline.

1. 1

   Miva wants the yellow car, and she has checked the prices. Online, cars like it sell for about $9,000. That is her number.

Miva knows the yellow car is worth about $9,000. The seller says $15,000 first. Let's see how one number bends her whole deal.

Spot the trick of the first number, and use it in your next salary talk.