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Proverb

Posted by Lewis on April 28, 2005

In Reply to: Proverb posted by Vidya on April 28, 2005

: Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler. What's meaning of this proverb?

Sounds a good expression - not in common use round my way though. it encapsulates the truth, so often ignored by politicians, that situations should not be over-elaborated, yet should not be over-simplified either. it urges plain-speaking, but not the use of misleading over-simplification.

silly example perhaps, but if asked 'is rain good or bad?' - there is no correct answer. rain is 'good' if there has been insufficient rainfall and reservoirs are empty, yet it would be 'bad' if a river is close to bursting its banks.
it is caled a 'false dichotomy' to insist on such simplification.

however, politicians seem to want to treat social phenomena/statistics as if there were such absolute answers.

L

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