I was forwarded the following email, and I liked it. It shows how a good analogy can make something very clear. It also can be used as an example of why making things clear is not always the same as understanding them more deeply. I’ll explain in a moment, but let’s look at the email first:

Reasons for the US government debt downgrade:

• Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
• Budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• Debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

Remove eight zeros and pretend » Read more: Debt and Analogy