View source for Simplicity

{{short description|State of being simple}}
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'''Simplicity''' is the state or quality of being [[wikt:simple|simple]]. Something easy to understand or explain seems simple, in contrast to something complicated. Alternatively, as [[Herbert A. Simon]] suggests, something is simple or [[Complexity|complex]] depending on the way we choose to describe it.{{sfn | ecoplexity.org | 2009|p=481}} In some uses, the label "simplicity" can imply [[beauty]], purity, or clarity. In other cases, the term may suggest a lack of nuance or complexity relative to what is required.

The concept of simplicity is related to the field of [[epistemology]] and [[philosophy of science]] (e.g., in [[Occam's razor]]). Religions also reflect on simplicity with concepts such as [[divine simplicity]]. In human [[Lifestyle (sociology)|lifestyles]], simplicity can denote freedom from excessive possessions or distractions, such as having a [[simple living]] style. In some cases, the term may have negative connotations, as when referring to someone as a [[simpleton]].

==In philosophy of science==
There is a widespread philosophical presumption that simplicity is a theoretical virtue. This presumption that simpler theories are preferable appears in many guises. Often it remains implicit; sometimes it is invoked as a primitive, self-evident proposition; other times it is elevated to the status of a ‘Principle’ and labeled as such (for example, the 'Principle of Parsimony'.<ref>{{Citation |last=Baker |first=Alan |title=Simplicity |date=2022 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2022/entries/simplicity/ |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |access-date=2023-04-05 |edition=Summer 2022 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University}}</ref>

According to [[Occam's razor]], all other things being equal, the ''simplest'' theory is most likely true. In other words, simplicity is a meta-scientific criterion by which scientists evaluate competing theories.

A distinction is often made by many persons {{by whom|date=April 2015}} between two senses of simplicity: [[syntactic simplicity]] (the number and complexity of hypotheses), and [[ontological simplicity]] (the number and complexity of things postulated). These two aspects of simplicity are often referred to as [[elegance]] and [[Occam's razor|parsimony]] respectively.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
|last= Baker
|first= Alan
|author-link= Alan Baker (philosopher)
|editor-last= Zalta
|editor-first= Edward N.
|editor-link= Edward N. Zalta
|encyclopedia= Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
|title= Simplicity
|url= http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/simplicity/
|access-date= 2015-04-26
|edition= Fall 2013
|date= 2010-02-25
|quote= A distinction is often made between two fundamentally distinct senses of simplicity: syntactic simplicity (roughly, the number and complexity of hypotheses), and ontological simplicity (roughly, the number and complexity of things postulated). [...] These two facets of simplicity are often referred to as ''elegance'' and ''parsimony'' respectively. [...] The terms ‘parsimony’ and ‘simplicity’ are used virtually interchangeably in much of the philosophical literature.
}}
</ref>

[[John von Neumann]] defines simplicity as an important esthetic criterion of scientific models: {{Blockquote|[...] (scientific model) must satisfy certain esthetic criteria - that is, in relation to how much it describes, it must be rather simple. I think it is worth while insisting on these vague terms - for instance, on the use of word rather. One cannot tell exactly how "simple" simple is. [...] Simplicity is largely a matter of historical background, of previous conditioning, of antecedents, of customary procedures, and it is very much a function of what is explained by it.<ref>
{{cite book
|title=The Unity of Knowledge
|last=von Neumann
|first=John
|editor-last=Leary
|editor-first=Lewis
|chapter=Method in the Physical Sciences
|publisher=Garden City
|location=N.J.
|year=1955
}}
</ref>}}

==In business==
The recognition that too much complexity can have a negative effect on business performance was highlighted in research undertaken in 2011 by Simon Collinson of the [[Warwick Business School]] and the Simplicity Partnership, which found that managers who are orientated towards finding ways of making business "simpler and more straightforward" can have a beneficial impact on their organisation.{{blockquote|Most organizations contain some amount of complexity that is not performance enhancing, but drains value out of the company. Collinson concluded that this type of 'bad complexity' reduced profitability ([[EBITDA]]) by more than 10%.<ref name=col>Ashkenas, R., [https://www.dukece.com/insights/for-stronger-leadership-cut-through-complexity/ For stronger leadership cut through complexity], ''[[Duke Corporate Education]]'', September 2013, accessed 23 April 2023</ref>}}

Collinson identified a role for "simplicity-minded managers", managers who were "predisposed towards simplicity", and identified a set of characteristics related to the role, namely "ruthless prioritisation", the ability to say "no", willingness to iterate, to reduce communication to the essential points of a message and the ability to engage a team.<ref name=col /> His report, the ''Global Simplicity Index 2011'', was the first ever study to calculate the cost of complexity in the world's largest organisations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carly|first=Chynoweth|title=How to avoid a tangled web|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/Appointments/article575337.ece#prev|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314020134/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/Appointments/article575337.ece#prev|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 14, 2012|publisher=The Sunday Times}}</ref>

The ''Global Simplicity Index'' identified that complexity occurs in five key areas of an organisation: people, processes, organisational design, strategy, and products and services.<ref>{{cite web|title=More about The Global Simplicity Index |url=http://www.simplicitypartnership.com/what-we-do/how-we-simplify-your-business/diagnosing-your-complexity-problems/more-about-the-global-simplicity-index/ |publisher=Simplicity Partnership |accessdate=13 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425220710/http://www.simplicitypartnership.com/what-we-do/how-we-simplify-your-business/diagnosing-your-complexity-problems/more-about-the-global-simplicity-index/ |archivedate=April 25, 2011 }}</ref> As the "global brands report", the research is repeated and published annually.<ref name=env />{{rp|3}} The 2022 report incorporates a "[[brand]] simplicity score" and an "industry simplicity score".<ref>[[Siegel + Gale]], [https://worldssimplestbrands.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/wsb_9th_edition.pdf World’s Simplest Brands: Ninth Edition], published 15 December 2021, accessed 4 May 2023, p. 50</ref>

Research by Ioannis Evmoiridis at [[Tilburg University]] found that earnings reported by "high simplicity firms" are higher than among other businesses, and that such firms "exhibit[ed] a superior performance during the period 2010 - 2015", whilst requiring lower average capital expenditure and lower [[Leverage (finance)|leverage]].<ref name=env>Evmoiridis, I., [http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=141718 Brand Simplicity, Stock Returns, and Firm Characteristics: Master Thesis], published 27 October 2016, accessed 4 May 2023</ref>{{rp|18}}

==In religion==
Simplicity is a theme in the [[Christianity|Christian]] religion. According to [[St. Thomas Aquinas]], God is [[Divine simplicity|infinitely simple]]. The Roman Catholic and Anglican religious orders of [[Franciscan]]s also strive for personal simplicity. Members of the [[Religious Society of Friends]] (Quakers) practice the [[Testimony of Simplicity]], which involves simplifying one's [[personal life|life]] to focus on what is important and disregard or avoid what is least important. Simplicity is tenet of Anabaptistism, and some [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] groups like the [[Bruderhof Communities|Bruderhof]], make an effort to live simply.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/life-among-the-bruderhof/|title=Life Among The Bruderhof|work=The American Conservative|access-date=2017-12-07|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/inside-the-bruderhof|title=BBC - Inside The Bruderhof - Media Centre|website=www.bbc.co.uk|access-date=2019-10-26}}</ref>

==Lifestyle==
{{Main|Simple living}}
In the context of human [[Lifestyle (sociology)|lifestyle]], simplicity can denote freedom from excessive material consumption and psychological distractions.

==Citations==
"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." —[[Rashi]] (French rabbi, 11th century), citation at the beginning of the film ''[[A Serious Man]]'' (2009), [[Coen brothers|Coen Brothers]]

==See also==
* [[Ambiguity aversion]]
* [[Concision]]
* [[Complexity]]
* [[Degree of difficulty]]
* [[Elegance]]
* [[KISS principle]]
* [[Minimalism]]
* [[Occam's razor]]
* [[Simple living]]
* [[Simplicity theory]]
* [[Simplification (disambiguation)]]
* [[Testimony of Simplicity]]
*[[Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity]]
* [[Worse is better]]
* [[John Maeda]] – 10 Laws of Simplicity

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{More footnotes needed|date=July 2010}}
* Craig, E. Ed. (1998) Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London, Routledge. simplicity (in Scientific Theory) p.&nbsp;780–783
* Dancy, J. and Ernest Sosa, Ed.(1999) A Companion to Epistemology. Malden, Massachusetts, Blackwell Publishers Inc. simplicity p.&nbsp;477–479.
* Dowe, D. L., S. Gardner & G. Oppy (2007), "[https://web.archive.org/web/20081216122608/http://bjps.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/axm033v1 Bayes not Bust! Why Simplicity is no Problem for Bayesians]", [https://web.archive.org/web/20050711025903/http://bjps.oxfordjournals.org/ Br. J. Philos. Sci.], Vol. 58, Dec. 2007, 46pp. [Among other things, this paper compares [[Minimum message length|MML]] with [[Akaike information criterion|AIC]].]
* Edwards, P., Ed. (1967). The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. New York, The Macmillan Company. simplicity p.&nbsp;445–448.
* Hickey, Rich (2011) [http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-Easy Simple Made Easy]
* Kim, J. a. E. S., Ed.(2000). A Companion to Metaphysics. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers. simplicity, parsimony p.&nbsp;461–462.
* [[John Maeda|Maeda, J.]], (2006) [https://books.google.com/books?id=lh9gRQ4i_zwC Laws of Simplicity], MIT Press
* [[William Newton-Smith|Newton-Smith, W. H.]], Ed. (2001). A Companion to the Philosophy of Science. Malden, Massachusetts, Blackwell Publishers Ltd. simplicity p.&nbsp;433–441.
* Richmond, Samuel A.(1996) "[https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00413842 A Simplification of the Theory of Simplicity]", Synthese 107 373–393.
* Sarkar, S. Ed. (2002). The Philosophy of Science—An Encyclopedia. London, Routledge. simplicity
* Schmölders, Claudia (1974). Simplizität, Naivetät, Einfalt – Studien zur ästhetischen Terminologie in Frankreich und in Deutschland, 1674–1771. [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-100184000 PDF, 37MB] {{in lang|de}}
* Scott, Brian(1996) "[https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00413770 Technical Notes on a Theory of Simplicity]", Synthese 109 281–289.
* {{cite journal|authorlink=Herbert A. Simon|last1=Simon|first1=Herbert A|year=1962|url=http://ecoplexity.org/files/uploads/Simon.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310150418/http://ecoplexity.org/files/uploads/Simon.pdf|title=The Architecture of Complexity|archive-date=2009-03-10|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|volume=106|ref={{sfnref | ecoplexity.org | 2009}}|issue=6|pages=467–482}}
* Wilson, R. A. a. K., Frank C., (1999). The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press. parsimony and simplicity p.&nbsp;627–629.
* If Not God, Then What? (2007) by Joshua Fost, p.&nbsp;93

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.iep.utm.edu/simplici/ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry]
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/simplicity/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry]

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[[Category:Abstraction]]
[[Category:Simple living]]
[[Category:Razors (philosophy)]]