The power of complexity

Complexity drives every aspect of life (1), and it is responsible for most of the ignorance of humanity. In Physics, they have been chasing strings and nourishing the particle zoo. In economics, they are moving beyond “regression,” to define how the world works, by formulas and theories. In medicine, they are making the patient irrelevant by pumping her with concoctions made from empiricism.

Complexity likely originated from early humans attempting to look smart. The first practitioners of complexity appeared out of Africa. They wanted to take the “long way home,” and they described complex theories about the rain and volcanoes to the masses. They invented religion, a plethora of Gods and even afterlife. The more complex an idea sounded, the better it was. In the modern world, consultants need long presentations, investment bankers need spreadsheets nobody could understand and academics have to write papers that nobody could comprehend. Complexity reigns supreme.

Such is the power of complexity that anybody who attempts simpler concepts will vanish. The last man who tried it came up with an equation, E=mc², that most can understand, and that is unacceptable.

(1) https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-simple-truth-about-physics/