{"id":1652,"date":"2010-04-21T01:52:14","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T08:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=1652"},"modified":"2018-04-04T02:37:35","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T09:37:35","slug":"complexophilia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/21\/complexophilia\/","title":{"rendered":"If You\u2019re So Smart, Why is Your Life Still a Mess?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Is<\/p>\n

Normally, more intelligence is a good thing. Yes, we all know examples of the anxious overthinker or the scholastic introvert who can\u2019t get a date. But, for the most part, being smarter helps in life.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019ve noticed one problem that mostly strikes really smart people. The smarter you are, the more likely you are to suffer from this problem. Worse, this problem is often the very reason many smart people fail miserably at improving their lives.<\/p>\n

Smart People Like Tricky Problems (Even if Most are Actually Simple)<\/h2>\n

The problem is that smart people like solving complicated problems. When faced with a problem that is difficult, but doesn\u2019t have a complex answer, they invent complexity. Instead of focusing on the essentials and making progress, they become trapped in irrelevant details.<\/p>\n

Take your health, for example. Health advice isn\u2019t complicated. Michael Pollan summarized the some of the best nutritional advice I\u2019ve ever read into only seven words: eat food, not too much, mostly plants<\/a>\"\"<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Why do Smart People Make Health Advice So Confusing?<\/h2>\n

Health advice is simple, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy. Eating less junk food, having a regular exercise routine, and eating the side of broccoli instead of that third cheeseburger. All of these things are well-known by almost every reasonably intelligent person, but it takes a lot of patience and effort to succeed.<\/p>\n

But is this what most smart people do? No. Instead, they invent complexity, purposely making the task less simplistic, even when there is no good reason for the added confusion.<\/p>\n

Ben Goldacre writes in the book Bad Science<\/a><\/strong>\"\", about the abysmal state of nutritional information. He points out many of the reported claims of fish-oil and supplements are based on flawed research. In The China Study<\/a><\/strong>\"\", T. Colin Campbell, points out that many vitamin and mineral pills don\u2019t result in better overall health.<\/p>\n

Despite this, how often do you see someone arguing about Omega-3 or the immunological benefits of garlic, when they don\u2019t exercise regularly? Or someone who argues whether anaerobic training is better than running, but they still have a cupboard full of junk food?<\/p>\n

Is Money Really that Complicated?<\/h2>\n

The problem goes way deeper than nutrition. As Ramit writes about personal finance<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing is more infuriating than someone telling me I\u2019m ‘throwing away money on rent\u2019 when they haven\u2019t spent even 2 hours running the numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr someone who proudly proclaims that they found a higher interest rate on a new bank, which is giving them 2%!!! When you politely say, Wow! How much is that worth? they get very very quiet\u2026because (1) they never thought about it, and (2) you know that an extra 1% is only worth $8\/month for a $10,000 balance.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Personal finance isn\u2019t terribly complicated. Yes, there is the underlying complexity of portfolio theory, CAPM, arbitrage and a whole host of other formulas you\u2019d need a PhD in physics to understand. Beneath that, though, for most individuals, personal finance breaks down to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Spending less than you earn.<\/li>\n
  2. Save and invest a portion of your income.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you\u2019re doing those two things, you\u2019re probably well ahead of most people, and probably still ahead of the many \u201csmart\u201d people Ramit mentions who lecture you on the merits of home ownership and getting the extra tenth of a percent interest rate.<\/p>\n

    Is Learning a Foreign Language Complicated?<\/h2>\n

    The same thing happens in language learning. I\u2019ve heard from people that are quick to correct me on the nuances of a particular word in French. Even when these people don\u2019t invest the time practicing to speak and reading frequently, so they can\u2019t hold up a conversation.<\/p>\n

    Read, listen, speak. Difficult, but fairly simple.<\/p>\n

    Same thing happens in blogging. Nothing irritates me more than bloggers who debate about where to put their subscription button, but haven\u2019t written regularly in the last three months.<\/p>\n

    Write regularly, share with other bloggers. It\u2019s not easy, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s complex.<\/p>\n

    \"Imagined<\/p>\n

    Complexophilia – Why You\u2019re Life Can Be a Mess, Even if You\u2019re Smart<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Complexophilia <\/strong>– n. The love of making things complicated.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Many smart people are raging complexophiles. They look for complexity, and when the correct answers are too simple, they invent more complicated versions of them.<\/p>\n

    There is a logic to it, and the mentality goes something like this:<\/p>\n

    Problem A is incredibly difficult (losing weight, starting a business or teaching yourself a foreign language).<\/p>\n

    The successful approach to A is, unfortunately, relatively simple. (eat less, create value, start reading and speaking)<\/p>\n

    Because the problem is difficult, it will require a lot of effort and patience to succeed. But, because the problem is simple, it doesn\u2019t require all the incredible brainpower and abstract reasoning that smart people are so good at.<\/p>\n

    At this point, the complexophile comes up with an alternative: Maybe that successful approach to A is simple, but I can probably come up with one that is more complicated (which is why stupider people haven\u2019t found it) and also easier.<\/p>\n

    So they invent or stumble upon an alternative strategy that requires them to understand the nuances of free-radicals, short-selling or linguistic theory, and makes the problem more complex. These people can then stroke their ego for being so much more clever than everyone else.<\/p>\n

    Unfortunately, as a consequence of them taking up the needlessly complicated approach, they forget the basics. If they focused on free-radicals while maintaining their focus on overall healthy eating and exercise, that would be fine. But more likely, this new complicated focus replaces <\/em>the more simplistic, successful approach.<\/p>\n

    As a result, you have people swallowing fish-oil pills who haven\u2019t exercised in months, and people buying penny stocks who aren\u2019t even matching their employer\u2019s 401k contribution. The complexity doesn\u2019t add to the successful simplicity, it overwrites the successful simplicity.<\/p>\n

    Problems Can be Difficult Without Being Complicated<\/h2>\n

    Saying that the secret to health is just eating less junk and more greens does health a disservice. Mostly because people confuse simple answers with easy answers. In fact, for smart people, simple answers are often the most difficult, because there are fewer loopholes to get out of putting in the effort.<\/p>\n

    Running a marathon is simple. You put one foot after the other and repeat for 26 miles. But that doesn\u2019t mean running one is easy.<\/p>\n

    Recognizing that there are a large class of life problems that (a) have simple answers, yet (b) are still really difficult, is important.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s okay to say to yourself, \u201cI know what to do, but it\u2019s still very hard.\u201d Accepting the simplicity\/difficulty conjunction allows you to put your focus on it, instead of fantasizing about Omega-3’s and syntactical oddities that don\u2019t solve the core problem.<\/p>\n

    \"Basics<\/p>\n

    Putting in the Grueling Effort on the Absolute Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re like me, and see yourself as being someone with complexophilic tendencies, there is a solution: commit to putting in the grueling effort on the absolute basics, first.<\/p>\n

    That is, you know what the #1 step you should be taking for success. Before you debate minutia, you make sure you\u2019re putting in the effort on step #1.<\/p>\n

    This means not opening a book on different workout routines until you\u2019re going to the gym every day. Stop reading the sites on dating advice if you\u2019re not going out and socializing with people regularly. Forget step #15 when you still haven\u2019t mastered step #1.<\/p>\n

    I find it helps to know what my #1 thing is for any area of my life:<\/p>\n