“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.” — E. F. Schumacher A growing company is a good thing.

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. In 1950 the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi was discussing the possibility of intelligent alien life with his colleagues. If alien ...

Many authors have written about the harm of oversimplification, pointing out that it distorts reality, leads to shallow understanding, impairs problem-solving, and fuels biases. In culture wars, it ...