Everything Will Not Be Better Tomorrow

Simplexity Redux

How come, with everything now making our lives simpler, everything now seems more complex?
On reflection, the question make no sense. Everything does not make our lives simpler if it makes it more complex. This is because simpler does not equal less complex. In fact, simpler now usually equals more complex. It may be simpler for me but mechanically it will be more complex. I press a button and the car window goes down. I press a button and I call a friend in a China. So it is simpler for me to do more things but I have less understanding of how the things are done. And when the things break down then I have no clue how to fix them. So everything is not making our life simpler, we are simply introducing more things -complex things- into it allowing us to do ever more things...
God, I miss the good old days when things were simple and we missed the previous good old days when things were simple.

Simplexity

How come, with everything now making our lives simpler, everything now seems more complex?

Dickhead

I'd had a bad day.
I saw the girl walking towards me, saw the dog, knew what was coming from the way she looked.
"Spare any change?" she asked, without stopping.
"Sorry," I said, without stopping.
We walked past each other.
"Dickhead!" she yelled from behind me.
Yes, I quite possibly was. I'd had a bad day, though probably not as bad as hers. I had been a dickhead.
But not because I didn't give her any money.

Tastefully Bland

'Capitalism has made modern life ugly,' said the first.
'The relentless focus on maximising profits has left no room for true aesthetics,' said the second.
'Beauty is now nothing but a marketing differentiator,' said the third.
'And art has become a conspicuous consumption for social status,' said the fourth.
We all nodded.
'What do you think?' said the first, turning to me.
'Well,' I started, 'I... uh... well, beauty should be above utility, but isn't that the utility of beauty?'
They stared at me
'That's funny,' said the second.
I laughed. More out of relief.
'Yes, but what do you really think?' asked the first.

On-line But Off-course

'Hey Max.'

'Hey Max, what’s up?'

'I’m worried that my on-line personal branding campaign isn’t compelling.'

'Oh no, that means that you are decreasing your sphere of influence and diminishing your value.'

'Cripes. What should I do?'

'You need to decide on your core message and the right channels through which to communicate your brand.'

'You mean I need to create engagement around my strategic priorities?'

'Yes, but don’t spread yourself too thinly across irrelevant communities.'

'Thanks. Uh, or…'

'Or what?'

'We could go outside and kick a ball?'

'Great idea, let’s go!'

Thought Leadership

“He’s a thought leader.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he offers new ideas.”

“What kind of new ideas?”

“New ideas about, er, you know, stuff.”

“And people follow him because he has ideas about stuff?”

“Well, not really follow, they just, uh, read him.”

“So he gives ideas about stuff that are not really followed?”

“Hm, yeah.”

“Thought leader sounds better.”