simple is difficult

Being complex is easy, being simple is difficult. It has been a long standing tradition in Silicon Valley — if your business idea cannot be explained within the confines of a single sheet of paper, it is worthless. We are increasingly progressing towards an era where people deliberatively seek to weave complexity into their lifestyles. Complexity does impart an air of unique importance that you believe is specific to only you. It fulfills your desire to be “different” — a personality with an intersectionality unlike any other. But we forget, the greatest form of complexity is simplicity.

The opening line of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina aptly says, “All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The greatest prose isn’t thought about from a multitude of diverse perspectives. It does not involve sleepless nights spent mulling over metaphors and literary devices. The author begins to write and everything flows in a natural rhythm like it’s meant to be, and voila! you have a masterpiece. The smartest, most accomplished people are always free. The best answer is honesty. Your favorite friends are those who just let you be. You feel happiest when you don’t have to pretend; you can say exactly what you think and feel.

There is joy in simplicity. The consumerist economy has driven us to believe that more is better, but less is more. The best way to achieve simplicity is thoughtful reduction, the key word being “thoughtful”. Removing for the sake of removing proves to be merely futile. In Einstein’s words, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Elimination is an integral step in doing away with inefficiency, but does not imply a removal of functionality.

Overtime technology has evolved to make smaller storage devices and mobile phones but their functionality and efficiency has been a constant upward sloping graph. Earlier, it used to be a humongous ordeal to obtain a single gigabyte (GB) of internet data, today we are drowning in its abundance. Evolution has simplified internet access for all, where it is available in plentiful at the lowest prices in the history of mankind. This marks real progress.

Meanwhile, this blog is a little too complicated for my liking for the time being. I’d rather it be much simpler, but complexity is an essential hurdle on the path to uncomplicating life. Think about it, the best way to spend your Saturday night is to sleep. Incase you’re wondering, it’s even simpler to let me know if you liked this piece of writing or did not for that matter. I’m always up for constructive feedback :)

Signing off, here’s your food for thought:

“The cutting edge is always fine.” — Michael Jordan