Return to Simplicity
Updated 2026-08-11
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Return to simplicity is a Daoist-flavored principle, kin to Occam's razor, that treats plainness as closer to truth than elaborate construction. Its core proposition is that accumulated decoration and redundancy obscure function, and that subtracting them recovers both authenticity and effectiveness. The key qualification is that simplicity means removing what does not serve the core, not removing difficulty: necessary complexity must be preserved, and a crude or impoverished result is not the same thing as a simple one.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Use redundancy hunt: list every element and ask what actually breaks if it is removed. - Use authenticity test: check whether each addition expresses the thing or merely decorates it. - Use core protection: name the irreducible value before cutting anything away.
Anchor fast decisions
Every added element carries maintenance cost and competes for attention, so complexity degrades function even when each addition was reasonable on its own. Subtracting forces a ranking of what matters, and ranking exposes elements that persist only because removal was never considered. What remains is both easier to operate and closer to the intent that produced it. Because the test is functional rather than aesthetic, the same procedure applies to products, organizations, and arguments, and the result is more robust than an elaborate design that hides its own weaknesses.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zdic.nethttps://zdic.net/hans/%E5%8F%8D%E7%92%9E%E5%BD%92%E7%9C%9Fverified
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