Simplify
Wise words on why and how to simplify everything
Simplify
Complexity gives a comforting impression of control, while simplicity is hard to distinguish from cluelessness.
Morgan Housel • Same as Ever: Timeless Lessons on Risk, Opportunity and Living a Good Life
“The highest level of mastery is simplicity.
Most information is irrelevant and most effort is wasted, but only the expert knows what to ignore.”
Most information is irrelevant and most effort is wasted, but only the expert knows what to ignore.”
James Clear • 3 Ideas, 2 Quotes, 1 Question (November 21, 2019) | James Clear
Simplicity is difficult because most of us are overcompensating for uncertainty. Adding something is easy. But removing something is hard, because it requires conviction. It’s easier to hedge against uncertainty, entertain multiple paths, and dilute your focus than to develop a strong opinion about what to exclude.
Things I'm thinking about
Smart people are uniquely vulnerable to mistaking complexity for insight.
An executive writes a ten-page memo that could be one. An engineer builds an intricate system when a simple one would perform better at half the cost. The consultant mesmerizes clients with frameworks that conceal rather than reveal. We attach prestige to what mystifies us. Co... See more
An executive writes a ten-page memo that could be one. An engineer builds an intricate system when a simple one would perform better at half the cost. The consultant mesmerizes clients with frameworks that conceal rather than reveal. We attach prestige to what mystifies us. Co... See more
Shane • Attention Required! | Cloudflare
Complexity can be tamed, but it requires considerable effort to do it well. Decreasing the number of buttons and displays is not the solution. The solution is to understand the total system, to design it in a way that allows all the pieces fit nicely together, so that initial learning as well as usage are both optimal. Years ago, Larry Tesler, then... See more
Don Norman • Living with Complexity (MIT Press)
Just understand that Simplicity is more than a goal—it’s a skill. To successfully leverage its power, you need to get good at it. That takes practice. And this is where things get a little tricky. Because the irony is, becoming skilled in Simplicity isn’t that simple. You can’t just learn it; you need to make it second nature.
Ken Segall • Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success
Simplicity isn’t just a visual style. It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of the complexity. To be truly simple, you have to go really deep. For example, to have no screws on something, you can end up having a product that is so convoluted and so complex. The better way is to go deeper with the ... See more
Walter Isaacson • Steve Jobs
“Simple is nearly always better. But if it’s going to be complicated, then make sure the problem is worth the complexity. A great deal of time is wasted creating complex solutions to relatively unimportant problems.”