Artificial Complexity in

Summary

The website content discusses the concept of "artificial complexity," where simple common problems are made to seem complex by the proliferation of numerous solutions and viewpoints, primarily driven by the financial incentives of the self-help industry.

Abstract

The article "Artificial Complexity in < 500 Words" is a condensed version of a longer piece on the topic of decomplication. It explains how the abundance of information on common issues like weight loss, financial management, and productivity leads to the creation of a multitude of solutions, which often adds unnecessary complexity to problems that are inherently simple. The text argues that this complexity is artificially introduced to differentiate products in a saturated market, suggesting that the simplicity of solutions like "eat less" for weight loss or "do deep work" for productivity is obscured by the desire to sell specialized programs or products. The article suggests that consumers, when faced with the failure of these complex solutions, resort to cognitive dissonance to avoid admitting that the answer was straightforward all along. This cycle perpetuates a market filled with "infomania," fear, and hype, where effective, simple solutions are overshadowed by the noise of ineffective, overly complicated ones.

Opinions

The article opines that common problems do not require a multitude of solutions or viewpoints, implying that the sheer volume of available information is counterproductive.
It criticizes the self-help industry for introducing artificial complexity to convince consumers of the need for specific solutions, rather than acknowledging the simplicity of the problems.
The text suggests that people who struggle with these common problems often rationalize their lack of success by believing the problems are inherently complex, thus avoiding the realization that the solutions are straightforward and their failure is due to a lack of execution.
The author believes that the cycle of artificial complexity is detrimental to consumers, as it leads to confusion, ineffective solutions, and a continual state of failure that feeds back into the cycle.
The article advocates for recognizing when a problem is truly simple and seeking out simple, proven solutions, such as eating whole foods for weight loss or engaging in meaningful activities for networking.
It emphasizes that understanding the dynamic of artificial complexity can help individuals more effectively solve problems and avoid wasting time on unproductive noise.

Artificial Complexity in < 500 Words

This is a Writing Lab experiment to compress the core ideas of a 4,000+ word article on Decomplication to 500 words or fewer.

Many of us struggle with common problems like losing weight, managing our money, or being productive. And because these problems are so common, there’s a massive amount of money to be made in solving them.

Since there is so much demand for these solutions, there’s a huge supply of information on them. A boon of the Internet is that promoting your own solution to a common problem, effective or not, is quick and easy. You can spin up a website on it in an afternoon and start accepting credit cards that evening.

But common problems typically do not have complex solutions, and don’t require many different solutions or viewpoints. To lose weight, eat less. To be productive, do deep work. A plethora of recipes is good, a plethora of diets not so much.

The only way to compete on solving these common problems is by introducing “artificial complexity” to convince the consumer that it is not a simple problem, and that they need your solution. It’s not their fault they failed, it’s that they didn’t have your answer.

People who fail to solve these problems on their own develop cognitive dissonance toward them: “Losing weight must be hard and complicated, because I haven’t been able to do it.” If it were simple and easy, they’d feel bad, so they reframe it as complex and hard.

This cognitive dissonance makes them seek out alternative explanations for their failures because it’s difficult to accept that the solution is obvious and simple and they failed to execute on it.

That desire for alternative solutions and the forces of supply and demand create a cycle of artificial complexity where the near-infinite demand for “solutions” to common problems creates a near infinite supply of “new” solutions, muddying the market with infomania, fear, and hype. Worse, since most of the invented solutions are ineffective, the continuing failure of the consumer exacerbates the cycle again and again.

To escape artificial complexity on an individual level, you must recognize when a problem is truly simple, and then seek out the simple solutions. To lose weight, “eat whole foods, mostly plants, not too much” in the words of Michael Pollan. To network with interesting people, do interesting things.

When you recognize that the popularity of a problem creates more artificial complexity around its solutions, you’ll be better equipped to effectively solve problems as they arise, and lose less time to the unproductive noise.