5 ms·

I do too, but from the weight of the idea - not the complexity of the delivery

by new_stranger 4y ago

klodolph 4y ago
Complex ideas require complex delivery to communicate.
- rnk 4y ago
  No they don't. This is just pointless sophistry. It does not explain the idea. It's writing that looks like the point is to show the writer's erudition, not explain the idea.
  - klodolph 4y ago
    If you try to express a complex idea directly, in practice, your audience often misses the point or misunderstands it. The complex delivery has in it redundancy. It approaches the idea from different angles. It connects the idea to other ideas. (That's also a misuse of the word "sophistry", by the way.)
    - rnk 4y ago
      Aha! You are one of them ;-) And I'm apparently not.
- Aperocky 4y ago
  Complex idea require multiple simple deliveries in a structured way.
  - klodolph 4y ago
    My experience is that this is often insufficient--or if we suppose that it's possible, I can't figure out how to express the complex idea by sticking a bunch of simple deliveries together. I don't want to abuse analogies, but let's say that you get asked the question, "Why don't you write a computer program that detects when another program hangs, and then restarts the program?" If I'm just going to give an off-hand answer, I'll say that this is connected to a famous problem in computer science, and it's proven to be impossible to solve. If I really want to explain why it's not possible without hand-waving it, I'm going to have to explain concepts like computability, models of computation, and "code as data". But it's natural to encounter people with these questions. Philosophy is the same way. It's easy to come up philosophical questions and hard to come up with answers. If you're writing an article, in either philosophy or computer programming, you're going to have to be careful to ride right line between simplicity and complexity. Too simple, and what you're saying is incorrect. Too complicated, and nobody will understand you.

I do too, but from the weight of the idea - not the complexity of the delivery

klodolph 4y ago

Complex ideas require complex delivery to communicate.

rnk 4y ago
No they don't. This is just pointless sophistry. It does not explain the idea. It's writing that looks like the point is to show the writer's erudition, not explain the idea.
- klodolph 4y ago
  If you try to express a complex idea directly, in practice, your audience often misses the point or misunderstands it. The complex delivery has in it redundancy. It approaches the idea from different angles. It connects the idea to other ideas. (That's also a misuse of the word "sophistry", by the way.)
  - rnk 4y ago
    Aha! You are one of them ;-) And I'm apparently not.
Aperocky 4y ago
Complex idea require multiple simple deliveries in a structured way.
- klodolph 4y ago
  My experience is that this is often insufficient--or if we suppose that it's possible, I can't figure out how to express the complex idea by sticking a bunch of simple deliveries together. I don't want to abuse analogies, but let's say that you get asked the question, "Why don't you write a computer program that detects when another program hangs, and then restarts the program?" If I'm just going to give an off-hand answer, I'll say that this is connected to a famous problem in computer science, and it's proven to be impossible to solve. If I really want to explain why it's not possible without hand-waving it, I'm going to have to explain concepts like computability, models of computation, and "code as data". But it's natural to encounter people with these questions. Philosophy is the same way. It's easy to come up philosophical questions and hard to come up with answers. If you're writing an article, in either philosophy or computer programming, you're going to have to be careful to ride right line between simplicity and complexity. Too simple, and what you're saying is incorrect. Too complicated, and nobody will understand you.