On Simplicity XIII (Complexity vs Simplicity V)

"Cultivate simplicity or rather should I say banish elaborateness, for simplicity springs spontaneous from the heart." (Charles Lamb, [Letter to Coleridge] 1790)

"In the original discovery of a proposition of practical utility, by deduction from general principles and from experimental data, a complex algebraical investigation is often not merely useful, but indispensable; but in expounding such a proposition as a part of practical science, and applying it to practical purposes, simplicity is of the importance: - and […] the more thoroughly a scientific man has studied higher mathematics, the more fully does he become aware of this truth – and […] the better qualified does he become to free the exposition and application of principles from mathematical intricacy." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856) 

"The first obligation of Simplicity is that of using the simplest means to secure the fullest effect. But although the mind instinctlvely rejects all needless complexity, we shall greatly err if we fail to recognise the fact, that what the mind recoils from is not the complexity, but the needlessness." (George H Lewes, "The Principles of Success in Literature", 1865)

"Expansion means complexity, and complexity decay." (C Northcote Parkinson, "In-laws and Outlaws", 1962)

"Theorems often tell us complex truths about the simple things, but only rarely tell us simple truths about the complex ones. To believe otherwise is wishful thinking or ‘mathematics envy’." (Marvin Minsky, "Music, Mind, and Meaning", 1981)

"All propaganda or popularization involves a putting of the complex into the simple, but such a move is instantly deconstructive. For if the complex can be put into the simple, then it cannot be as complex as it seemed in the first place; and if the simple can be an adequate medium of such complexity, then it cannot after all be as simple as all that." (Terry Eagleton, Against The Grain, 1986) 

"There is no over-arching theory of complexity that allows us to ignore the contingent aspects of complex systems. If something really is complex, it cannot by adequately described by means of a simple theory. Engaging with complexity entails engaging with specific complex systems. Despite this we can, at a very basic level, make general remarks concerning the conditions for complex behaviour and the dynamics of complex systems. Furthermore, I suggest that complex systems can be modelled." (Paul Cilliers," Complexity and Postmodernism", 1998) 

"People who pride themselves on their 'complexity' and deride others for being 'simplistic' should realize that the truth is often not very complicated. What gets complex is evading the truth." (Thomas Sowell, "Barbarians inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays", 1999) 

"History, as well as life itself, is complicated; neither life nor history is an enterprise for those who seek simplicity and consistency." (Jared Diamond, "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed", 2005)

"Simplicity in a system tends to increase that system’s efficiency. Because less can go wrong with fewer parts, less will. Complexity in a system tends to increase that system’s inefficiency; the greater the number of variables, the greater the probability of those variables clashing, and in turn, the greater the potential for conflict and disarray. Because more can go wrong, more will. That is why centralized systems are inclined to break down quickly and become enmeshed in greater unintended consequences." (Lawrence K Samuels,"Defense of Chaos: The Chaology of Politics, Economics and Human Action", 2013)