The Power of Simplicity in Arguments

Content including text and images © Aditya Mohan. All Rights Reserved. Robometircs, Amelia, Living Interface and Skive it are trademarks of Skive it, Inc. The content is meant for human readers only under 17 U.S. Code § 106. Access, learning, analysis or reproduction by Artificial Intelligence (AI) of any form directly or indirectly, including but not limited to AI Agents, LLMs, Foundation Models, content scrapers is prohibited. These views are not legal advice but business opinion based on reading some English text written by a set of intelligent people.

In both law and life, the simplest arguments are often the most persuasive. Consider Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address—remarkably short, yet powerfully clear in its purpose. Simple arguments resonate because they cut through distractions, allowing the core message to stand out, much like how a well-lit sign stands out in a darkened room.

The NextGen Judicial Panel by Berkeley Center for Law & Technology recently reminded us that the core goal of any argument should be to answer the question: "What will bring this panel over to my side?" Read our notes from the event here: Becoming an Effective Litigation Attorney or Leader. This perspective encourages the demystification of legal jargon. Simplify the rules, because a straightforward argument makes the law stronger and easier to follow. While notes can be useful to structure a case, the essence lies in clarity—stripping an argument down to its most fundamental points.

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once famously observed in the case of Lochner v. New York (1905), "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience." The Lochner case involved a challenge to a New York law that limited bakers' working hours, which the Supreme Court struck down, arguing it infringed on economic freedom. Holmes's dissent argued against rigid formalism and highlighted the importance of practical, experience-based reasoning in law, underscoring that legal decisions should consider the broader human and societal context rather than relying solely on abstract principles. By removing convoluted complexities, Holmes demonstrated that practical, experience-based reasoning often proves more compelling than intricate legal gymnastics.

The emphasis on simplicity applies beyond the courthouse—whether negotiating a contract at work, handling disputes within a team, or navigating personal relationships. When parties disagree on the terms of a contract, the winning argument is rarely the one that buries the other side in details. Instead, it is the one that clearly lays out mutual benefits, respects concerns, and answers the simple question: "Why should we move forward with this?"

In 1929, Albert Einstein and Louis de Broglie attended the centenary celebrations of physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel in Paris. Fresnel was a pioneer in the field of wave optics, and his work laid the foundation for understanding light as a wave—a critical development in physics. During a conversation at the Gare du Nord station, Einstein remarked that physical theories, aside from their mathematical formulations, should be so straightforward that even a child could grasp them.

This idea resonates with the importance of simplicity in law and negotiations, where distilling arguments down to their essence often proves most effective in persuading others. The collaboration between Einstein and de Broglie was pivotal in advancing quantum mechanics, particularly in understanding the wave-particle duality of matter—a concept suggesting that particles, like electrons, exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties depending on how they are observed. Einstein said, "that all physical theories, their mathematical expressions apart, ought to lend themselves to so simple a description 'that even a child could understand them.'"

This insight extends well beyond science and into our everyday interactions. The essence of resolving a dispute often lies in reducing it to its core components, making it understandable and accessible to all parties involved. Whether in court or at the dining room table, clarity wins the day.

Further read

LLM, Us and Neuroplasticity

"Are you sure?": Unveiling the Quest for Human-Like Artificial Intelligence

Designers, creativity and AI

A LLM as a reflection of our inner most desires

Should AGI be a she, he, or a it?