5 ms·
I’ve long held the opinion that humans ‘over’-value complexity. It’s why we can spend so much time tasting, analyzing, and enjoying fancy coffee or whisky - des
by jrmg 27d ago
I’ve long held the opinion that humans ‘over’-value complexity. It’s why we can spend so much time tasting, analyzing, and enjoying fancy coffee or whisky - despite the fact that almost everyone is repulsed by them the first time they try them. Literature might be the same?
To be clear, I enjoy all three!
- tony_cannistra 27d agoDon't forget software engineering
- bobson381 27d agoTo add on - complexity itself is a perceptual feature introduced by language - we treat and describe things as though they are made of an unimaginable number of tiny parts. So this also increases the fun of the wordy wine/coffee/whisky descriptions!
- mmooss 27d agoI get your idea but I wonder about the construction of this argument: Is it the complexity itself people value, or the rewards of things that are complex? IME, the most valuable things are complex. Maybe that's because there is not enough capacity in simplicity to contain exceptional value (speaking very generally and loosely - we really need to define terms). Also, I certainly think people value complex things, but I strongly disagree that they are over-valued. All the best things in my life seem complex. I could imagine that complexity stimulates the brain in a different way and that adds to reward.
- basilikum 27d agoGood writing isn't complex for complexity's sake though. Mistaking complexity for quality is the most common mistake when it comes to writing — and I allege one central reason why many people like and trust LLM output. I'd argue that complexity is not even the right word to describe what the author describes. Thickness or depth is more accurate.
- aeturnum 27d agoThe simpler pleasures and pains of life are easier to speak to and we have a lot more (proportionally) media that reflects those experiences. Particular media does it better and worse and so there's a hierarchy, but if you are looking to have your enjoyment of good food and drink reflected in a story that's pretty easy to find. But life is often more complex than that and it requires great skill to accurately reflect that complexity in creative works. When you're struggling with an experience that is difficult to talk about and understand, a creative work that seems to "get it" can be really valuable in sorting out how to think about that experience. I rarely need help in describing how much I like coffee, but I welcome good writing on the subject of "how should one understand the mixed experience of being very close to someone who you often disagree with."
- furyofantares 27d agoIs it even possible to over-value an experience? I suppose with an experience I'm taking value as a synonym for enjoyment level, I'm not sure what else it means in that context. I guess you can enjoy something to the detriment of your focus on other things and then to your overall wellbeing. But idunno if someone being really into analyzing fancy coffee or something counts.
- andai 27d agoPerfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- e12e 27d agoHemingway might have a few words to say about that. Just a few, mind you. Not many.
- eszed 27d agoLol. I had the same thought: "but, but... Hemingway!" Of course, his magic lies in how much thickness he creates with such terse prose.
- ip26 27d agoI'm always suspicious we read far too much into most works, as if they were all live examples of The DaVinci Code. It feels inevitable that one day, centuries from now, someone will "realize" that JK Rowling embedded a map of hyperspace into her phonemes or that Banksy was actually issuing incisive commentary on the contrast between ancient Sumerian government and veganism all along.