The Complexity Illusion.

Earth is spinning at 1,000 mph but I don’t notice it. 

I don’t feel me moving at all as I stand here writing this or at any other time really.

And we are orbiting the sun at 67,000 mph but I don’t notice that either.

And don’t get me started about how fast our entire solar system is hurling about the Milky Way Galaxy or how fast the Milky Way Galaxy is speeding across the universe.

We are flying through space but it doesn’t matter whether I know about it or not.

Sure, it’s cool to know and I just got some kicks looking these speeds up and also remembering my 10th grade physics teacher, Commander Albright, who taught me this stuff, but functionally, it makes zero difference to my life.

If I had no idea I was moving so fast, I’d just go about my day, same as always. I’d probably be writing about something else or using a different analogy as my introduction to this post.

While the world is spinning and hurling and flying I’m just standing here, cochleae still as a pond on a windless day.

The Complexity Illusion

It seems like we live in a very complex world and that this complexity is increasing at an accelerating rate.

60 years ago, Moore’s Law kicked in, presaging the rise of the PC, then the internet, then the mobile device, then social media and global real-time news distribution, then streaming, then crypto, and now it’s AI.

Meanwhile, research keeps accumulating. We know more now about the intricacies of health, for example, than ever before and it seems like there’s a new study published every week shockingly questioning conventional wisdom.

But is the world really getting more complex? And does it even matter?

I’m going to continue eating real food, moving my body daily, spending time with my family and friends, and working and writing.

Will I peruse the next big study about egg consumption and will I read Peter Attia’s new book?

Probably.

And will I learn some cool stuff and get some kicks?

Of course. 

But will any of it matter that much?

Nope.

Don’t be fooled by this appearance of increasing complexity. 

Life remains simple, so just keep making simple moves.

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