“31: Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.”

—  Alan Perlis , Epigrams on Programming

Epigrams on Programming, 1982

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "31: Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it." by Alan Perlis?
Alan Perlis photo
Alan Perlis 30
American computer scientist 1922–1990

Related quotes

Alfred North Whitehead photo

“… the only simplicity to be trusted is the simplicity to be found on the far side of complexity.”

Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English mathematician and philosopher
Benoît Mandelbrot photo

“Most of the world is of great roughness and infinite complexity. However, the infinite sea of complexity includes two islands of simplicity: one of Euclidean simplicity and a second of relative simplicity in which roughness is present but is the same at all scales.”

Benoît Mandelbrot (1924–2010) Polish-born, French and American mathematician

Source: The Fractalist (2012), Ch. 29, p. 299

Winston S. Churchill photo

“Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

“Complex things are easy to do. Simplicity's the real challenge.”

Robert James Waller The Bridges of Madison County

Source: The Bridges of Madison County

David Allen photo

“Engaging in complexity is a key to simplicity. Fear of it will haunt your inner recesses.”

David Allen (1945) American productivity consultant and author

12 November 2011 https://twitter.com/gtdguy/status/135526192148267009
Official Twitter profile (@gtdguy) https://twitter.com/gtdguy

“Free yourself from the complexities of your life! A life of simplicity and happiness awaits you.”

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 38

Daniel Levitin photo

“Music, or any art form… has to strike the right balance between simplicity and complexity”

Daniel Levitin (1957) American psychologist

This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
Context: When a musical piece is too simple we tend not to like it, finding it trivial. When it is too complex, we tend not to like it, finding it unpredictable—we don't perceive it to be grounded in anything familiar. Music, or any art form... has to strike the right balance between simplicity and complexity...

Dean Acheson photo

“… talk should precede, not follow, the issuance of orders.”

Dean Acheson book Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department

Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department (1969), Principles

“Decentralized systems are the quintessential patrons of simplicity. They allow complexity to rise to a level at which it is sustainable, and no higher.”

L. K. Samuels (1951) American writer

Source: In Defense of Chaos: The Chaology of Politics, Economics and Human Action, (2013), p. 221

Related topics