“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”

— Albert Einstein

The quote "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a t…" is famous quote attributed to Albert Einstein (1879–1955), German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity.

Actually written by E. F. Schumacher in a 1973 essay titled "Small is Beautiful" which appeared in The Radical Humanist: volume 37, p. 22 http://books.google.com/books?id=oA0IAQAAIAAJ&q=%22more+violent%22#search_anchor. Earliest published source found on Google Books attributing this to Einstein is BMJ: The British Medical Journal, volume 319, 23 October 1999, p. 1102 http://books.google.com/books?id=bQk7AQAAIAAJ&q=%22more+violent%22#search_anchor. It was attributed to Einstein on the internet somewhat before that, for example in this 1997 post http://groups.google.com/group/alt.weemba/msg/2bbf56ab8f4f757d?hl=en. <br class="br">Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update April 18, 2023. History

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Albert Einstein702

German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativi… 1879–1955

E. F. Schumacher (1911–1977) British economist

"Small is Beautiful", an essay, in The Radical Humanist, Vol. 37, No. 5 (August 1973), p. 22 http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106019678082;view=1up;seq=230

“Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple.”

Pete Seeger (1919–2014) American folk singer

“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.”

Woody Guthrie (1912–1967) American singer-songwriter and folk musician

“Directing takes more courage than acting.”

Moon So-ri (1974) South Korean actress

As quoted in "Moon So-ri interview: “I wasn’t relaxed enough for us to improvise!”" in Eastern Kicks (6 June 2018) https://www.easternkicks.com/features/moon-so-ri-interview-2

“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

“It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.”

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) British comic actor and filmmaker

Variant: Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself

“Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to make something simple.”

Richard Branson (1950) English business magnate, investor and philanthropist

“I am far from convinced that energy spent doing damage to life, limb and property is likely to prove more productive than properly thought-out and planned non-violent direct action.
More likely the opposite.”

Yakoub Islam

"Anarchism Against Riots" (7 August 2011). 
Captain Jul's Mission Blog (2011 - 2013)
Context: Riots may be symptoms of a deeper socio-political malaise: the product of unjust government policy and racist policing. I know from friends I have spoken to who were participants in the 1981 Brixton riots, that riots can engender a great deal of local solidarity against an oppressive State. But I am far from convinced that energy spent doing damage to life, limb and property is likely to prove more productive than properly thought-out and planned non-violent direct action.
More likely the opposite.

“I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.”

Leo Burnett (1891–1971) American advertising executive

Quote 38
Leo Burnett Worldwide

“The more complex our economy, the more we should rely on the miraculous, self-adapting processes of men acting freely. No mind of man nor any combination of minds can even envision, let alone intelligently control, the countless human energy exchanges in a simple society, to say nothing of a complex one.”

Leonard E. Read (1898–1983) American academic

The More Complex the Society, the More Government Control We Need https://books.google.com/books?id=W3MuCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT18&lpg=PT18&dq=The+more+complex+our+economy,+the+more+we+should+rely+on+the+miraculous,+self-adapting+processes+of+men+acting+freely.+No+mind+of+man+nor+any+combination+of+minds+can+even+envision,+let+alone+intelligently+control,+the+countless+human+energy+exchanges+in+a+simple+society,+to+say+nothing+of+a+complex+one.&source=bl&ots=OZxiANz5bm&sig=QP-xiNhoDNxDDMB1mcR25NuqEl4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq04eE9_LTAhVMKyYKHWh_BGEQ6AEIKjAB#v=onepage&q=The%20more%20complex%20our%20economy%2C%20the%20more%20we%20should%20rely%20on%20the%20miraculous%2C%20self-adapting%20processes%20of%20men%20acting%20freely.%20No%20mind%20of%20man%20nor%20any%20combination%20of%20minds%20can%20even%20envision%2C%20let%20alone%20intelligently%20control%2C%20the%20countless%20human%20energy%20exchanges%20in%20a%20simple%20society%2C%20to%20say%20nothing%20of%20a%20complex%20one.&f=false <br class="br">Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”

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Albert Einstein702

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