The Complexity of Simplicity

“Being simple is the most complicated thing nowadays.” -Ramana Pemmaraju

The principle of simplicity or parsimony—broadly, is the idea that simpler explanations of observations should be preferred to more complex ones—is conventionally attributed to William of Occam, after whom it is traditionally referred to as Occam’s razor. This does not mean that there will be no longer difficult issues remaining.

The complexity bias is a reason why we humans lean towards complicating our lives rather than keeping things simple. When we are faced with too much information or we are in a state of confusion about something, we will naturally focus on the complexity of the issue rather than look for a simple solution.

As a cryptomathician I´m constantly researching the synergies between art, science, and religion. Recently I´ve published an essay that is called “The All is an Egg” that describes the latest development in those fields and indicates where those fields are converging and where they´re bifurcating.

The inspiration for this essay occurred to me after a visit of the Dali Museum in Figueres, at a time when I was contemplating about a new concept that could reunite the fragmented field of human knowledge and skills. And there I stumbled upon the egg.

Connecting art, science, and religion, with the metaphor of the egg foisted onto it, is a transformative work, and a profound invitation to reflect. Albert Einstein said in this context: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”.

Although simplicity and complexity are not in conflict with one another, they are indeed opposites in that they are two poles of a continuum—the more complex something seems the less simple it seems, and vice versa.