‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.’ (Albert Einstein)

There’s some debate as to whether this quotation originated with Albert Einstein. But the evidence points to his having at least a role in its final form. It may have taken on increased weight because his name was attached to it. But whether he actually said it or not, it seems to fit well with his personal philosophy. It’s a helpful aphorism either way.

I once heard that the difference between a ‘teacher’ and an ‘educator’ is that a teacher takes things that are complicated and makes them simple. While an educator takes things that are simple and makes them complicated. As a former school teacher, I can attest to the accuracy of that statement. My goal as a teacher is to make things as simple as I can without forfeiting or compromising their essence. I prefer it when others take that same approach with me.

There are two extremes the quotation addresses. The first extreme is to make something more complex than it is. Politicians are masters at this. Mostly because it allows them to appear as if they have an answer when they really don’t. Have you ever heard a politician answer a question by simply saying, ‘no’? Or even more rarely, ‘I don’t know’? They give an answer that’s meant to obfuscate and confuse. So the questioner cannot draw any practical conclusions from their remark. In fact, some people attempt to mislead by using words like ‘obfuscate’ rather than a simpler word like ‘confuse.’ But notice that I defined the word with the following word. So it’s okay. The goal should never be to make something more complicated than it is. Unless your purpose is to confuse or to be unclear. Which contradicts the very intent of communication.

The other extreme, covered by the second part of the quotation, is to make something simpler than it is. Some things by their very nature are complex. They can be simplified to a point, but only to a point—and no further. If we make them more simple than they are, we fail in the same was as in the first extreme—we confuse. We can confuse or be confused at EITHER EXTREME. By either making something MORE complicated than it really is. Or by making something LESS complicated than it really is. Both confuse, and both should be avoided if our goal is to be clear. Let me take a shot at giving some examples that may help shed light on the difference.

1. What if I said that the cause of crime is that people are bad? It’s true that some crime occurs because people are bad. But the cause of crime is more complex than that. What if I said that crime is caused when people choose an illegal solution to a problem? Of course, crime is more complex than THIS TOO. But the second statement is not TOO SIMPLE. It’s simple enough without being too simple.
2. Remember in elementary school when you had to reduce or simplify fractions? So 24/32 could be simplified to 12/16. Which could be simplified to 6/8. Which could be simplified to 3/4. But we stop at 3/4. 3/4 is as simple as the fraction can go. So 3/4 is simple enough without being too simple.

Our goal in communication should be clarity. To be understood. It’s difficult enough to be understood when we ARE CLEAR. How much more difficult it is when our communication is murky, confusing, or puzzling. When something is complex and we want to explain it, we want to retain the essence while making it as simple as we can. Our aim should be to make it simple enough to understand without doing injustice to its complexity.

I think there are 3 basic reasons why our goal should be to make things as simple as they can be without making them simpler than they actually are.

1. Simple is understood easier.
2. Simple is understood quicker.
3. Simple is understood longer.

So have it your aim to make something as simple as you can make it, without making it too simple. If it’s complex, make it as simple as possible without denying or compromising its complexity. Explaining astrophysics with the phrase, ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’ is too simple. But I would not understand astrophysics at its complex level. So I would want an explanation that’s simple enough to understand while respecting the inherent complexity of the subject. That will do nicely. Keep it simple. But not too simple. How simple is that?

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