Roman Simon on Nostr: Whoever can manage complexity can understand the world. The real world is infinitely ...

Whoever can manage complexity can understand the world.

The real world is infinitely complex.

Our minds have limited resources, and therefore our perception of the world is limited. We can't comprehend the full complexity, so we often get lost in layers upon layers of information.

However, there is a way to manage anything: progressive processing. This means going only as deep as necessary to understand the topic of interest.

For example, a car has thousands of parts and is a very complex mechanism. But we can start analyzing it from a surface level. To drive a car, it’s enough to understand basic principles and mechanisms. If you want to repair the car, you’ll need to go deeper. How deep? To the exact level required to understand the problem and fix it. You don’t need to remember everything in your head — there are manuals. If you understand how to read them and the basic principles of engineering, you can read any manual and understand any mechanism.

I, personally, have assembled and disassembled motorcycles, cars, and their engines, all by following repair manuals.

This exact principle can be applied to anything — health, for example.

Obesity is an insulin problem. People with low insulin levels are lean, and those with high insulin levels are obese. Injecting insulin can make anyone gain weight, while lowering it can help anyone lose weight. I don’t need to be a doctor or study everything deeply to understand how it works and use these principles to solve problems.

Want to lose weight? Lower your insulin. How do you do that? Stop consuming carbs. Is it dangerous? No. Humans don’t need dietary sugar; we need fats and proteins. How do I know this? I studied just enough to understand how it works, tried it myself, and everything worked as I predicted.

Stay focused when researching a topic and aim to understand it. Complexity is the enemy of understanding.