From Ken Segall's Insanely Simple:
"[Quoting Steve Jobs] When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can oftentimes arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions."
The toughest thing about simplicity is that it often looks effortless and easy. In reality, the process of shedding complexity is infinitely more difficult than uncovering complexity.
When I watch Roger Federer play tennis, I simultaneously recognize that he is a master and that ... maybe I could do that too (because it looks so simple)! So I lace up my shoes and grab a friend and a can of balls to go play.
I have visions of sending screaming one-handed backhand winners down the line.
I dream of the wide kick serve, the smooth approach to net, and the clinical volley finish.
Because Roger makes it look that easy, I delude myself: Ammar, if you just do it like Roger, it'll all make sense.
But I haven't touched my racquet in months. I can't read and anticipate like Roger can.
So that screaming backhand winner actually gets shanked into the net.
My wide kick serve leads to a clumsy, ill-timed approach, which itself leads to an embarrassing, stumbling stab at a volley. Disaster.
Simplicity is hard work because we need to make things more complicated before we can see how simple it all really is. But the final product looks so natural; why would anyone else even imagine to do it any other way? Fuck you Roger.