H. L. Mencken Quotes

There is always an easy solution to every problem - neat, plausible, and wrong.

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

… steer clear of bogus simplicity

We fail when we try to give simple answers to complicated problems.

Unfortunately, simplistic framing of problems leads to simplistic answers.

People are always trying to draw simplistic dialectics that can capture things.

We know that no algorithm can solve global poverty; no pill can cure a chronic illness; no box of chocolates can mend a broken relationship; no educational DVD can transform a child into a baby Einstein; no drone strike can end a terrorist conflict. Sadly, there is no such thing as 'One Tip to a Flat Stomach.'

There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker.

I'd be wary of simple solutions to complex problems.

They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.

People are tired of simple things. They want to be challenged.

People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet.

Yet it looks as if the thing we use to solve our problems with is the source of our problems. It's like going to the doctor and having him make you ill. In fact, in 20% of medical cases we do apparently have that going on. But in the case of thought, its far over 20%.

Early on, in discussions of financial oversight, people would say, 'Well, this is a very complicated problem, therefore it requires a complicated solution.' And at that step, I would say, 'Well, wait a minute. Just because it's a complicated problem doesn't mean the best course of action immediately is one that's complicated.'

What we do as a society is seek simple answers.

Yet we act as if simple cause and effect is at work. We push to find the one simple reason things have gone wrong. We look for the one action, or the one person, that created this mess. As soon as we find someone to blame, we act as if we've solved the problem.

There is no silver bullet. I know people in Washington want grand solutions for everything.

I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated.

There are many people who want simple solutions, but there are none ... nor will there be.

It’s not very profitable to sit and think nowadays. So many problems, and they seem all to have such twists to them – nothing is straightforward.

The only stupidities that are not easily solved are those created by very intelligent men.

The world is complicated. But does every problem require a complicated solution?

The simple questions are always the hardest ones.

No one-liner can ever be optimal.

Often, problems are knots with many strands, and looking at those strands can make a problem seem different.