> I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say. My understanding is that "because it took a whole PhD thesis to come up with, it must take a lot of effort t

> I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say. My understanding is that "because it took a whole PhD thesis to come up with, it must take a lot of effort to understand". But I don't think that holds up. Much like the "if I had more time I'd have written a shorter letter", it can often take effort and skill to make a thing smaller and easier to understand.