A Quotation From
Most Of All They Taught Me Happiness
By Robert Muller
Followed by a comment from Vicky Rossi
#6 Quotation from the chapter entitled “Of Simplicity”, volume 4 “Lessons from Other People”:
“During the day [U Thant] asked me to join him in his office to further discuss the speech. Among his remarks, one still sticks in my mind like a dart. Pointing at a sentence, he asked:
‘What does this mean: the “economies of scale?”’
I explained it to him and he remarked:
‘Well, if you can explain it so simply, why don’t you say so in the text? I am a simple man and I will speak to simple people. If I do not understand what I am saying, they will not understand me either. I feel that one ought to be straightforward if one wants to create better world understanding.’
I have never forgotten that heaven-sent lesson. […] U Thant was absolutely right.
There is nothing important on earth that cannot be explained in simple terms. And if it can’t, it is not worth speaking about, for it is irrelevant to human needs.”
My related comments:
It is a skill indeed to be able to phrase complex information in words which are appropriate for the listener. It is a skill because it takes “sensitivity” to be able to accurately gauge the knowledge that that person already has as well as to understand the way in which he or she thinks and comprehends information e.g. is the person more receptive to visual, aural or oral input? More importantly, perhaps, it also takes “humility” to be able to choose simple language to explain an intricate topic without adopting a condescending attitude or a sense of superiority.
The sudden rise in the popularity of computers offers a good example of this. Perhaps for children, who are learning how to work a computer from an early age, the related terminology is all part of the conceptual learning process associated with the growing-up phase. However, for adults, this is generally not the case. Many adults have had to adjust to assimilating something quite alien and complex into their lives if they wanted to keep a pace with the times. And yet computer terminology can sound ever so complicated creating psychological barriers to the effective and pleasurable use of the machines. Experienced computer technicians or even computer users can wrap themselves in a secret language, which appears at times to purposely want to exclude the “average” woman or man.
It is the sign of a mature human being when an individual can focus beyond the personal need for self-recognition and hold the interests of other persons as the over-riding imperative. This attitude is essential in the modern day efforts to raise public awareness of such urgent issues as climate control, the impact of global economics and nuclear proliferation. In order to ensure that these issues are given the necessary priority by respective governments, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, grandmothers, grandfathers, all need to understand that their input counts. The first step in this process is to ensure that they can all comprehend the basic concepts.
