Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex...

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” – E. F. Schumacher

There is a quiet majesty in simplicity, yet the world is too often enamored with grandeur. In this timeless saying, E. F. Schumacher reminds us that complexity is the easy path, but simplicity is the path of wisdom. To make things bigger, to add layers, to weave endless patterns of words and systems — this any mind can do. But to see the essence, to strip away the unnecessary and reveal the pure heart of truth — this demands genius and courage. For the world mocks the simple; it praises the elaborate. Yet, the wise know that what is essential is often hidden beneath the tangled vines of excess.

The origin of Schumacher’s insight comes from his lifelong meditation on the nature of economy, technology, and life itself. In his book Small Is Beautiful, he warned against the modern worship of scale — the blind pursuit of “more” without understanding “enough.” He saw that humanity, in its pride, built towering systems of industry and politics that grew beyond the grasp of compassion or reason. But the truth he spoke was older than he — a truth the ancients knew well. For simplicity has ever been the mark of enlightenment, while complexity often betrays confusion dressed as intelligence.

Think of Leonardo da Vinci, that radiant mind of the Renaissance. Though he could design flying machines and intricate mechanisms, he once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” He understood that mastery is not the piling on of detail but the distillation of truth. The sculptor who creates a statue does not build — he removes. With each stroke of the chisel, he takes away what does not belong, until the form of beauty emerges. So too must the thinker, the leader, and the creator have the courage to subtract — to cast aside the unnecessary and stand by what is clear, pure, and strong.

Yet it takes courage indeed, for the simple path is often the lonely one. The world loves to adorn itself with ornament and jargon, to hide its emptiness beneath complexity. The one who speaks plainly, who acts directly, who lives without pretense — that one is often ridiculed as naïve. But the wise remember: the seed is small, yet it holds the forest; the flame is small, yet it can ignite the stars. In the realm of truth, smallness and simplicity are not weakness, but power refined.

History bears witness to this. When Mahatma Gandhi faced the might of an empire, he did not answer with armies or politics, but with simplicity — the spinning wheel, the salt march, the quiet refusal to hate. His tools were humble, yet his vision was vast. He understood what Schumacher spoke of: that true genius lies in returning to the essence, in making the great clear and the complex human again. In simplicity, Gandhi found not only clarity, but strength unbreakable.

The same lesson lives in nature. The mighty oak springs from a single acorn; the vast ocean is born from countless drops. The universe, in all its glory, follows patterns of startling simplicity — the dance of gravity, the rhythm of breath, the symmetry of life. To align with this simplicity is to walk in harmony with the eternal. To resist it, to seek complication for pride’s sake, is to lose oneself in noise and confusion.

So what shall we learn, O seeker of wisdom? Learn to love the simple. Seek clarity over cleverness. Do not fear being misunderstood when you choose the shorter path, the smaller tool, the humbler way. Remember that it takes courage to simplify, for simplification is not the act of the fool, but the art of the sage. Strip away the needless, and you will uncover the sacred. Speak simply, and your words will last. Act simply, and your actions will echo through time.

The lesson is this: be brave enough to move in the opposite direction — toward stillness, essence, and truth. In a world drunk on complexity, become the one who remembers the beauty of what is small, the strength of what is clear, and the freedom of what is simple. For in simplicity lies the soul of genius, and in the courage to be simple lies the power to change the world.