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Aren't most things "simple" by that definition though? It's all about specificity, right? Quitting smoking is simple, if you don't talk about ways to overcome a

Aren't most things "simple" by that definition though? It's all about specificity, right? Quitting smoking is simple, if you don't talk about ways to overcome addiction. Becoming rich is simple, just get lots of money - simple if you ignore all the complexities of the underlying problem. That's why I felt my situation and my wife's differed. Mine was simple because there wasn't an underlying pile of complexity. Her underlying "addiction" and etc are noteworthy items in her list of things she needs to do. It's simple if you ignore the problems, but if she wants to actually implement that simple instruction she needs to figure out the little details that affect her. So yes, it is simple if we're not talking about her situation with context and reality. Mine is simple in all contexts, in my opinion. Smoking is a good example imo on where our opinions differ. Smoking is super far simple in my mind, because many people can't just stop smoking (or rather, lack the willpower). So they need additional data, the simple instruction was.. imo, not so simple.

ska 8y ago
Many things are not simple by that definition or any other, and it is not about specificity. Some problems are inherently complex, some are not. It is often true that hard problems are hard because they are complicated but some things are just hard even if they are simple. You are basically promoting the idea that I am rejecting, that because people find things difficult and have a lot of complicated reactions to it, that means the underlying problem is itself must be complex. I don't believe that is either true or useful, and argue that it can often make the problems themselves worse by muddying the water. Some problems are complicated but relatively easy. In this case, if you just find "the right trick" you can solve it without much difficultly. We do people a disservice when we pretend that simple-but-hard problems are actually complicated-but-easy. This is something that is often done, for commercial gain, in industries like weight loss and smoking cessation. At core, I am arguing that this is a bad thing. At any rate, we've probably reached diminishing returns here.
- notheguyouthink 8y ago
  Appreciate your input regardless. Challenging my understanding is appreciated :)
  - ska 8y ago
    Likewise!

ska 8y ago

Many things are not simple by that definition or any other, and it is not about specificity. Some problems are inherently complex, some are not. It is often true that hard problems are hard because they are complicated but some things are just hard even if they are simple. You are basically promoting the idea that I am rejecting, that because people find things difficult and have a lot of complicated reactions to it, that means the underlying problem is itself must be complex. I don't believe that is either true or useful, and argue that it can often make the problems themselves worse by muddying the water. Some problems are complicated but relatively easy. In this case, if you just find "the right trick" you can solve it without much difficultly. We do people a disservice when we pretend that simple-but-hard problems are actually complicated-but-easy. This is something that is often done, for commercial gain, in industries like weight loss and smoking cessation. At core, I am arguing that this is a bad thing. At any rate, we've probably reached diminishing returns here.

notheguyouthink 8y ago
Appreciate your input regardless. Challenging my understanding is appreciated :)
- ska 8y ago
  Likewise!