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--- Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com> wrote:
> Andrew Plato wrote:
>
> > Any form of simplification is inherently less than the original
> concept.
>
> We may have a semantic difference here. To make the statement above, I
> suspect,
> you must mean by "simplification" what I mean by "over-simplification."
No. I mean simplification. Anytime you boil something down, it loses
resolution. The line between "over-simplification" (bad) and
"clarification" (good) moves with every passing moment.
> True, a generalization contains less information, and can distort a
> concept for
> that reason. However, at the risk of reviving the lame techie joke about
> "less
> is more," simplification can sometimes be more than the original
> concept. It
> depends on the structure of the original. If the original is complex
> because of
> poor structure or expression, then reorganizing or restating it more
> simply can
> improve it.
Agreed. But it can also alter the meaning.
I guess what I am saying is that simplification is not a universally good
thing. And its a very dangerous thing if you do not understand what you're
simplifying.
For example, I could write a really cool manual on how to fish. But I am
not a fisherman nor do I have a frickin' clue how to fish. So any attempt
by me to simplify the "art-o-fishin'" down to easy language would be
futile - because I don't know what they hell I am talking about.
Thus, the real problem is simplification for the mere act of
simplification. If you're in a situation of ignorance, its best to stay
complex and a little awkward (but correct) then to attempt simplification
and perhaps lose a critical concept. The act of simplification will have
greater detrimental effects if you don't comprehend what you're
simplifying.
Andrew Plato
Mmmm, eels.
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