Simplistic

rogersgeorge on November 29th, 2016

Simplistic is an important word to understand, both its definition, and recognizing it when it happens.

Lots of times people say “simplistic” when they mean “simple,” but they want to sound more high-falootin, so they use the longer word. I call this behavior pretentiousism. “Simplistic” means oversimplified. Too simple. Important details left out. (That means you shouldn’t to say “over simplistic,” either.)

You need to recognize oversimplification because simplistic content creates pitfalls that can lead to misunderstanding, even error. Whenever you write to explain something, be alert about leaving out necessary details. At least mention that those details exist. If you’re writing to influence, not merely inform, being simplistic is a powerful tool. It enables you to leave out details that contradict your point.

Here’s a good example of  being simplistic from an enjoyable comic about life in academia, PHD Comics:

Remember, please, that I’m writing about the language, not about the politics.

Let’s look at the first number. We generally understand rounding, so that’s okay. But that 1% actually tipping the scales is not so simple. The votes would have to be distributed pretty specifically to succeed in turning the tide. If 1% more people had voted Democrat in California or Delaware, those votes would have made no difference. It’s extremely unlikely that that 1% would have been effectively distributed in real life. The 1% is a mere statistic, not something that could realistically have happened. I should add that the persuasiveness of the number becomes a lot weaker if you say something like “1% properly distributed among key states would just barely have tipped…” I suspect Jorge Cham would expect his thoughtful readers to figure out this detail on their own. See why you need to be able to recognize oversimplification when it happens?

The second number. (I’ll ignore that the description should have “who” instead of “that.”) And remember, I’m describing the language, not the politics.

  • The first simplistic thing is “didn’t bother.” I can imagine a lot of reasons why people didn’t vote besides not bothering to. Disgust with both major candidates, physical handicap, schedule conflicts, illness, and so on. Does this 44.4% apply only to the folks who didn’t bother, or does it include everyone who didn’t vote?
  • Realize also that about half of them would have voted some other way than Democratic, too. Not pointing out this diversity of opinion doesn’t acknowledge that important detail.
  • The number has three significant digits! It doesn’t match the other number. Using more digits isn’t exactly oversimplification; what it does is increase the emotional impact of the number, especially next to the one-digit number. Darrell Huff’s classic How to Lie with Statistics calls this sort of thing statisticulation, and this is such a good example, I have to point it out.

Do you see that being simplistic can be a powerful tool of persuasion? Always be alert for left-out details.

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