Complex Problems Quotes

• Every complex problem has a simple solution that doesn't work.

  H. L. Mencken

  Simple, Problem, Complexes

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• For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.

  H. L. Mencken

  Freedom, Simple, Ethics

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• Beware of people preaching simple solutions to complex problems. If the answer was easy someone more intelligent would have thought of it a long time ago - complex problems invariably require complex and difficult solutions.

  Steve Herbert

  Wisdom, Intelligent, Simple

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• When the solution is simple, God is answering.

  Albert Einstein

  Love, Life, Positive

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• People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.

  Vince Lombardi

  Motivational, Teamwork, Football

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• Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.

  Laurence J. Peter

  Business, Intelligent, Thinking

  "Peter's Almanac". Book by Laurence J. Peter. Entry for September 24, 1982.

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• Even the most complex problem is resolved in the end. Because if there's a question, there also is an answer.

  Kim Joon

  Answers, Problem, Ends

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• People think there's a single solution to complex problems, and the solution is often making an enemy of a group of people - pulling back and rejecting the other.

  Duncan Green

  Thinking, People, Enemy

  Source: www.macleans.ca

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• All experience has taught us that solving a complex problem uncovers hidden assumptions and ever more knowledge, trade-offs that we didn't anticipate but which can make the difference between meeting a deadline and going into research mode for a year, etc.

  Erik Naggum

  Years, Taught Us, Differences

  "Is CLOS reall OO?". Usenet discussion groups, groups.google.com. May 5, 1998.

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• There is always an easy solution to every problem - neat, plausible, and wrong.

  H. L. Mencken

  Business, Simple Solutions, Neat And Tidy

  H.L. Mencken (2012). “Mencken Chrestomathy”, p.443, Vintage

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• There is always a well-known solution to every human problem - neat, plausible, and wrong.

  H. L. Mencken

  Funny Inspirational, Freedom, Business

  "The Divine Afflatus". New York Evening Mail, November 16, 1917; reprinted in H. L. Mencken "Prejudices: Second Series", 1920, and in "A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing" edited by H. L. Mencken, 1949.

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• Diverse groups of problem solvers outperformed the groups of the best individuals at solving complex problems. The reason: the diverse groups got stuck less often than the smart individuals, who tended to think similarly.

  Scott E. Page

  Smart, Thinking, Collaboration

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• Well, take it from an old hand: the only reason it would be easier to program in C is that you can't easily express complex problems in C, so you don't.

  Erik Naggum

  Hands, Would Be, Problem

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• Physics is becoming so unbelievably complex that it is taking longer and longer to train a physicist. It is taking so long, in fact, to train a physicist to the place where he understands the nature of physical problems that he is already too old to solve them.

  Eugene Wigner

  Nature, Science, Long

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• The drive toward complex technical achievement offers a clue to why the U.S. is good at space gadgetry and bad at slum problems.

  John Kenneth Galbraith

  Technology, Space, Achievement

  The Saturday Evening Post, 1968.

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• Occupying my mind with complex problems has been my best and most powerful and most reliable defense against my mental illness.

  Elyn Saks

  Powerful, Mind, Defense

  "A tale of mental illness — from the inside". TED Talk, www.ted.com. June, 2012.

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• Our goal is to try to bring a calm and simplicity to what are incredibly complex problems so that you're not aware really of the solution.

  Jonathan Ive

  Philosophical, Goal, Simplicity

  "Jonathan Ive interview: simplicity isn't simple". Interview with Shane Richmond, www.telegraph.co.uk. May 23, 2012.

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• The deep paradox uncovered by AI research: the only way to deal efficiently with very complex problems is to move away from pure logic.... Most of the time, reaching the right decision requires little reasoning.... Expert systems are, thus, not about reasoning: they are about knowing.... Reasoning takes time, so we try to do it as seldom as possible. Instead we store the results of our reasoning for later reference.

  Daniel Crevier

  Moving, Knowing, Decision

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• Our science is like a store filled with the most subtle intellectual devices for solving the most complex problems, and yet we are almost incapable of applying the elementary principles of rational thought.

  Simone Weil

  Science, Intellectual, Principles

  Simone Weil (2015). “Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings”, p.156, Wipf and Stock Publishers

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• It should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities of our system and society.

  John F. Kennedy

  Home, Opportunity, Practice

  Undelivered Speech to the Dallas Citizens Council, delivered 22 November 1963, Trade Mart, Dallas, Texas

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• As an expert, I can deal with complex problems. As a mother it is much, much harder.

  Rosalind Wiseman

  Mother, Experts, Problem

  "'Queen Bee' guide to not feeling stung". Interview with Nora Krug, www.washingtonpost.com. November 8, 2010.

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• It is absurd to imagine that any child will be able to earn a living, let alone contribute to resolving our world's complex problems, without knowing how to read and write. My foundation supports the National Writing Project so that teachers can be more effective in their efforts to improve literacy for all students.

  Isabel Allende

  Teacher, Children, Writing

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• Not all complex problems have easy solutions; so says science (so warns science.)

  Mark Z. Danielewski

  Problem, Easy, Complexes

  Twitter post from Apr 13, 2012

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• Pat answers to complex problems are the hallmark of intellectual mediocrity

  Theodosius Dobzhansky

  Intellectual, Mediocrity, Answers

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• I'd be wary of simple solutions to complex problems.

  Jeb Bush

  Simple, Problem, Complexes

  "Is the Age of Bush Over? Jeb Needs to Step Up His Game If He Is Going to Take Back the GOP" By David Paul, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 29, 2013.

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