Henry Petroski Quotes

Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple.

Things that are complex are not useful, Things that are useful are simple.

Never do anything complicated when something simple will serve as well. It's one of the most important secrets of living.

Simplicity is somehow essentially describing the purpose and place of an object and product.

A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with-that's poverty-but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you're clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it's clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. (148)

It's important to keep life simple, and if I'm traveling, I only can do a couple of things, and those are the things that I'm meant to be doing.

We have a passion for keeping things simple.

Quite apart from the prestige of technology, people do, after all, prefer a simple idea to a complex one.

I only use a camera like I use a toothbrush. It does the job.

Easily acquired. Inexpensive. Perfectly functional. Portable. Identifiable. Disposable. Eternal enough. These are my criteria for the perfect storage system. And I’ve found the answer in the simple file box.

Simplicity is simple. Perhaps this sounds redundant. But it's true, and it's important.

It is by great economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.

Above all, keep it simple.

I have a 'Play The Melody' philosophy. It means don't over arrange, don't make life difficult. Just play the melody-and do it the simplest way possible.

I write as straight as I can, just as I walk as straight as I can, because that is the best way to get there.

Simple things should be simple and complex things should be possible.

There is a use for almost everything.

To be simple is no small matter.

Why bother with a cunning plan when a simple one will do?

It is far more difficult to be simple than to be complicated.

Google has the functionality of a really complicated Swiss Army knife, but the home page is our of approaching it closed... It's simple, it's elegant you can slip it in your pocket, but it's got the great doodad when you need it

Simplicity requires ruthlessness.

Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.

Never overlook the power of simplicity.

I wear my sort of clothes to save me the trouble of deciding which clothes to wear.