Seduction of Simplicity

I just finished reading a book titled “Life Ascending” by Nick Lane. It talks about ten great inventions of evolution. For a person with a limited background in biochemistry and biology, this is a fascinating account on how some of the major inventions by nature---like hot blood, sight, photosynthesis or DNA--- could have evolved. Each of these inventions followed the basic rules of evolution, and took millions of years to play out. The result is this extraordinarily complex diversity of plants and animals, and of course us, the human beings.

This book clearly illustrates that years of painstaking research are required to explain how something as complex as the evolution of human being. Occasionally, wrong pathways are followed before the likely hypotheses start emerging. It also requires faith in science and its ability to explain.

For a majority of people, however, there is a simple explanation on why we are what we are---God created us in his image over a period of seven days. End of mystery.

What I am wondering is whether this is strictly driven by their faith in God and his existence or is it due to an innate belief that there has to be a simple explanation to life’s mysteries.

Are simple solutions and explanations that seductive that they can trump reason? I think so.

This, of course, is not restricted just to science. A huge chunk of our population believes that a simple solution for the financial mess we find ourselves in is reducing the size of the government and getting it out of our lives. Of course it does not bother these people that they, at the same time, want the same government to help them with retirement and pay the medical bills.

A solution that would work requires a reasoned approach, balancing the complex needs of the society with the financial pain that we all need to share. However, this is not reducible to a few sound bites and slogans, and therefore not appealing to this very vocal segment of the society. I believe that they too are seduced by the elegance of what they propose and not by their understanding of macroeconomics.

I feel the same way about the failed experiment of communism. It was such an elegant solution that provided an alternative to the messy process of democracy. It was easy to explain and enforce. (I bet their regulations and tax codes were not as massively complex as ours!). It was seductive to a great number of people.

The only problem was---it did not work.

July 2011