It sure seems that the world has become ever so complex in just about every aspect of life.  I hear many yell out that they wish that life was simpler and yet, the hierarchy of society has determined that complexity is the smarter way to go.  We see this in so many areas.  Heck, the upcoming Diagnostic and Statisical Manual -V of mental disorders coming out in 2013 has added many more areas of what constitutes a disorder that it seems that every single person alive can be classified with one.  The whole medical profession has added layers upon layers.

That is only the start of complexity.  Look at the way our government is run.  Multiple layers and millions of regulations that is supposed to help society.  It’s only made it worse.  Take the IRS, so complex this agency is that they don’t even know what is going on.  From local governments all the way to the federal government, complexity seems to be abound.

Major corporations are so dug in with constraints that new ideas that could help them to grow won’t happen.  They have no idea on what the market really wants or can even envision what will take place in the future.  They are simply stuck in complexity that constrains they from moving forward.

Our educational system is one big bogged down complex monolith.  They still teach based on methods that worked 100 years ago and fail to fully understand how to grasp what education is supposed to accomplish.  It is so simple to see and they don’t.  So they won’t.

All of this reminds me the story of the truck stuck under a bridge because it was too high to go through.  The driver of the truck assumed he had enough clearance to drive under this bridge.  Well, he didn’t and his roof got stuck.  No matter how hard he tried to get unstuck, he couldn’t and was firmly locked into place.

A tow truck came and tried to pull it out to no avail.  The county engineer came to assess the situation.  He and his team measured and analyzed what they could do.  If they used various equipment to try to pull it out, the bridge would be severely damaged.  So they thought of this and that.  More surveying and measurements and ideas.

Well, this little boy on a bicycle just happened to be riding by and looked at what was happening.  He asked the county engineer what was going on.  The county engineer explained and then the little boy said, “Why don’t you just let the air out of the tires?”  The county engineer, startled, and asked the boy to repeat.  “Why don’t you just let the air out of the tires”, the boy said again.  Can you imagine the county engineer’s jaw dropping?

A simple solution to a supposedly complex problem is what true brilliance is all about.  It gets rid of constraints and offer solutions that works.  Over-thinking a problem leads to inertia, which eventually becomes as stagnant as an “old algae-filled pond.”

Become brilliant!

Bob