--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the simplicity on this side of…" description: "\"For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg" --- # For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't… ![“For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg) > “For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts the value of simplicity on either side of complexity, offering everything for the latter’s simplicity while denying the former. **In simple terms:** Simplicity after complexity is priceless. Key Takeaway Seek clarity after complexity. Themes philosophy complexity simplicity Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - technical projects - creative processes - learning new skills Key Concepts cognitive science problem solving Questions to Reflect On - How do we know when simplicity is sufficient? - What risks arise from seeking simplicity? A Different Perspective Simplifying may oversimplify nuanced issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) ## Related quotes > [The evolution of knowledge is toward simplicity, not complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/the-evolution-of-knowledge-is-toward-simplicity-not-complexity/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [The beauty of simplicity is the complexity it attracts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-beauty-of-simplicity-is-the-complexity-it-attracts/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Simplicity in complexity is what nature is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/simplicity-in-complexity-is-what-nature-is-all-about/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [But in a TV series, you can really take a novelistic approach and explore characters that you wouldn't ordinarily see, in a level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-joy/but-in-a-tv-series-you-can-really-take-a-novelistic-approach-and/) [Lisa Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-joy/) > [I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/i-would-not-give-a-fig-for-the-simplicity-this-side-of-complexity-but/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Simplicity and complexity need each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/simplicity-and-complexity-need-each-other/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) > [“Complexity is the prodigy of the world. Simplicity is the sensation of the universe. Behind complexity, there is always simplicity to be revealed. Inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idris-mootee/complexity-is-the-prodigy-of-the-world-simplicity-is-the-sensation-of/) Idris Mootee > [The Cube is, at the same time, a symbol of simplicity and complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erno-rubik/the-cube-is-at-the-same-time-a-symbol-of-simplicity-and-complexity/) [Erno Rubik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erno-rubik/) > [Simplicity is complexity resolved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantin-brancusi/simplicity-is-complexity-resolved/) [Constantin Brancusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantin-brancusi/) > [Abandon the urge to simplify everything, to look for formulas and easy answers, and to begin to think multidimensionally, to glory in the mystery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/abandon-the-urge-to-simplify-everything-to-look-for-formulas-and-easy/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The beauty of evolution is that it does provide an explanation of how you can get complexity out of simplicity. It does it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-beauty-of-evolution-is-that-it-does-provide-an-explanation-of-how/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/simplicity-does-not-precede-complexity-but-follows-it/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More by Oliver Wendell Holmes > [Even a dog knows the difference between being kicked and being stumbled over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/even-a-dog-knows-the-difference-between-being-kicked-and-being/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [There are a good many real miseries in life that we cannot help smiling at, but they are the smiles that make wrinkles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/there-are-a-good-many-real-miseries-in-life-that-we-cannot-help/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/the-great-thing-in-this-world-is-not-so-much-where-you-stand-as-in/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [A man's mind stretched by a new idea can never go back to its original dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/a-man-s-mind-stretched-by-a-new-idea-can-never-go-back-to-its/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Husband and wife come to look alike at last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/husband-and-wife-come-to-look-alike-at-last/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [To brag little - to show well - to crow gently, if in luck - to pay up, to own up, and to shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/to-brag-little-to-show-well-to-crow-gently-if-in-luck-to-pay-up-to/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Beauty is only skin deep... but dont tell an ugly person that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-but-dont-tell-an-ugly-person-that/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/the-mind-once-expanded-to-the-dimensions-of-larger-ideas-never/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/build-thee-more-stately-mansions-o-my-soul-as-the-swift-seasons-roll/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/alas-for-those-that-never-sing-but-die-with-all-their-music-in-them/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [When men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe... that the ultimate good desired is better reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/when-men-have-realized-that-time-has-upset-many-fighting-faiths-they/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [Don't be consistent but be simple true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/don-t-be-consistent-but-be-simple-true/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [When I think of talking, it is of course with a woman. For talking at its best being an inspiration, it wants a corresponding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/when-i-think-of-talking-it-is-of-course-with-a-woman-for-talking-at/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it round. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don't embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/if-i-had-a-formula-for-bypassing-trouble-i-would-not-pass-it-round/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) > [The woman cries before the wedding; the man afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/the-woman-cries-before-the-wedding-the-man-afterward/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) [Explore all 53 Oliver Wendell Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-complexity-i-wouldn-t-give-you-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-complexity-i-wouldn-t-give-you-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/oliver-wendell-holmes-12756_business_for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-compl_2216086.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the…” — Oliver Wendell Holmes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For the simplicity on this side...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-complexity-i-wouldn-t-give-you-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes/for-the-simplicity-on-this-side-of-complexity-i-wouldn-t-give-you-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```