There’s a saying that says “there’s a fine line between love and hate.” Similarly, when I run my hand under ice cold water, it sometimes feels hot. Opposites are not as different as it might seem.
I’ve struggled to see how simplicity and complexity were similar. They need each other, but they still feel like extremes on a continuum, far more different than same.
One thing that simplicity and complexity have in common is that they each can be both positive and negative. How you view it depends on your perspective and the context.
| Positive | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Simplicity | “This is so simple to use” | “He is such a simple person” |
| Complexity | “The soup has a complex flavor” | “His directions were so complex” |
The reason I had not seen the similarities before was that I had been comparing a positive interpretation of simplicity to the negative version of complexity. When viewed from the same perspective, there is a lot more in common.
In the positive sense, both simplicity and complexity provide a surprise that impresses people. The negative versions are merely frustrating.
This is my first comment here, I am enjoying your posts on Simplicity. Keep ’em coming.
My 2 cents on this post,
this reinforces the tagline of my blog,
“It just is. The rest is your story”.
The labels “Simple” and “Complex” , “Positive” and “Negative” are just what they are, labels.
They can easily be swapped for a person with a different story, let us say, for an autistic person in the case of the picture above.
What are considered “Positives” can very well be “Negatives” and vice versa.
I have found that rationalization of an experience and labeling it is futile and not necessary.
Another way to look at Simplicity/Complexity is through the concept of “Flow”, If something aids the Flow, it is simple, otherwise it is complex.
If somethings turns your mind off, it causes “Flow” to happen and hence you feel it is simple.