Illusions of Complexity

We’ve built a world that worships complexity. Not the kind that leads to breakthroughs or beauty, but the kind that hides responsibility. The kind that turns simple problems into endless committees, policy reviews, and “ongoing assessments.” It’s a trick disguised as sophistication; a way for leaders and organizations to look busy while standing still.

Take age-gating. For years, platforms have insisted that keeping underage users off certain spaces is an impossible task. Yet the same society can instantly verify your age when you buy alcohol, rent a car, or enter a casino. Somehow, when there’s profit on the line, the complexity evaporates.

The message that seems clear is: it’s not that the systems can’t change, it’s that the incentives won’t let them.

This pattern runs deeper than tech. Governments, institutions, even creative organizations fall for the same self-inflicted maze. They turn straightforward reforms into Herculean undertakings so that no one has to risk their comfort or ego. “We’re working on it” becomes the universal stall. But simplicity isn’t the absence of sophistication; it’s the result of mastery.

Complexity, in contrast, is often the art of evasion.

Ignorance has become an asset. When companies plead confusion about content moderation, about data ethics, about the harm their platforms amplify, they’re not admitting weakness. They’re protecting margins. Complexity becomes camouflage.

"It’s complicated” is corporate code for “we don’t want to fix it."

You can feel this tension in design too. Projects balloon into jargon-heavy roadmaps, bloated with meetings and endless “alignment.” Yet the boldest solutions often emerge when someone cuts through the noise and asks, “Why are we doing it this way?” Simplicity exposes what’s real; it leaves no room to hide behind PowerPoint decks or unnecessary verbiage. And that’s why it scares people. It demands honesty.

A quiet rebellion is forming: the new generation isn’t buying the illusion. They see that making things simple takes courage, not code. It means stripping away excuses, facing tradeoffs, and designing for humans instead of shareholders. They’re tired of being told; “it can’t be done” by people who simply don’t want to do it.

Maybe complexity isn’t the enemy; it’s the mask. And if we care about progress, we need to start pulling it off.

The future won’t belong to those who perfect the illusion, but to those who build with clarity, integrity, and purpose.

The ones willing to make simple things work because they actually want them to.