Keep it simple

Simple rules are the best way to deal with Complexity because of the flexibility and universality.

This idea shapeshifts and appears in various areas from design to war.

Auftragstaktik (The five elements of an organization that can exploit OODA loops) is a form of simplifying orders.

Keep things simple, is one of the Four laws of combat.

Quotes:

• “Simplicity is the hallmark of truth, but complexity continues to have a morbid attraction” — E.W. Dijkstra
• • “The aim of science is to seek the simplest explanations of complex facts. We are apt to fall into the error of thinking that the facts are simple because simplicity is the goal of our quest. The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be, ‘Seek simplicity and distrust it.’” — Alfred North Whitehead
• The simplest explanation is usually the right one. – Occam’s Razor (paraphrased)
• Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. – Albert Einstein
• Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things. – Isaac Newton
• Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it. – Alan Perlis
• Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming. – Brian Kernighan