The acronym for “keep it simple, stupid” is attributed to Kelly Johnson, an engineer at the U.S. weapons company Lockheed. Although there are several other variations, the principle states that systems work best if they are kept simple.
Complexity should be avoided. Johnson had given a team of design engineers a set of tools, then challenged them to design a jet aircraft which can be repaired by an average mechanic under war conditions with these tools only.
There is nothing original about KISS, however. See the statement attributed to William of Ockham that “among competing hypotheses, the one that makes the fewest assumptions should be selected”; to Leonardo da Vinci that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”; to Mies van der Rohe that “less is more”; and to Antoine de Saint Exupéry “It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away“.
sich bewähren means to prove one‘s worth or value, to be reliable, to have worked. From Middle High German meaning to turn out to be true, right, correct.
In Germany there is no higher testament to quality than something which has proven itself over time. Das hat sich bewährt, that has proven itself, is very persuasive to German ears. Over generations, decades, even centuries. Solid, known, established, predictable, tested.
In German literature and movies, the harking back to family, tradition, home region is a constant theme. The ideal, idyllic world is to be protected against the corrupting forces of modernity.
German companies, time and again, advertise their solidity, quality, reliability by stating their longevity and tradition: Established 1885. Above the entrance doors of German Fachwerkäuser – half-timbered houses traditional in the Middle Ages, also called gingerbread houses – one can read Erbaut 1375.
Searing: Very hot; marked by extreme intensity, harshness, or emotional power.
The United States is an immigrant country. More accurately stated: a younger, more recent immigrant country. For the history of mankind is the history of man moving, settling, then picking up and moving again.
There were and are reasons for why people moved and continue to move to the United States. Many seek greater freedom of thought, of religion, of way of life. Economic opportunity was/is certainly a motivation for many, if not most. And there are those who wanted to break out of the inflexible structures of their native country.
The immigrant experience is searing. It is of great emotional intensity, forming who we are as individuals, families, ethnic communities, and as a nation. The stories, the emotions, the choices made are passed down from generation to generation.
Oddly, but understandably, an American of German descent will say: “I’m German,” meaning, “My ethnic heritage is German,” in a deeper sense, “My national cultural hard-wiring is American and German,” just as it is for others: American and Italian, American and Irish, and Vietnamese, and Mexican, and Polish, and so on.
A searing experience. People left behind all that they knew. Language, culture, traditions, friends and relatives. The risks were both high and not entirely known. The immigrant experience leads to a complex relationship with what was once home. For people take their culture with them. National culture changes only slowly and painfully.
Immigrants admire, respect, long for their home. But they also leave it behind, in some ways they reject it. Americans have always seen America as the New World. Not just a new settlement, a new country. But a new world, as if mankind were starting afresh, anew. It is a part of the American self-understanding to believe that you can strike out on a new path, question old ways, methods, traditions.
Realistic for Americans means that the present is a starting point to the future, a new starting point towards a new future, possibly different and better than the past. Yes, the present is the result of the past, but not locked into a pre-determined, unalterable trajectory. The past, therefore, has less relevance. There is less need to explain how the present was arrived at.
Whereas for Germans realistic means “keeping your feet on the ground,” maintaining a sober view of the situation, not deviating too much from known ways; “knowing where you come from.” For Americans realistic means developing a vision, imagining new possibilities, stretching beyond, reaching for more and greater things.
The Germans are criticized for “thinking things to death”, for overanalyzing. Deep analysis has a long and honored tradition in Germany, however. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, just as one example, wanted to turn Hegel’s philosophy “on its head.”
It is the goal of all great thinkers to explain reality as it is, and not the other way around, to force reality into their theories. All new situations and phenomena should be explainable, at a minimum placed in some logical perspective.
Thinking in systems, in connections and in mutual interdependencies is a red thread (a constant theme) in German philosophy, from Kant to Hegel to Max Weber on to Karl Popper and others of today. It is stressed in schools and universities in all subject areas.
If a German wants to discredit the statements made by another person, he can say (among other things): Das ist von Ihnen zu kurz gedacht! – literally that was “thought too short”, meaning that was not (fully) thought through.
That kind of criticism is damaging even if it is not backed up by specific points. For it accuses the other party of not having considered all possible factors in a given situation, in a decision made, in an action taken. The person criticized did not adequately analyze the situation, did not take a systematisch approach.
That certain (unimportant) factors should be ignored is not relevant to the critique. The criticism sticks: the other person didn’t consider the connections and interdependencies.
The benefits need to be clear, concrete, personal. They must answer the simple question: “What’s in it for me?” When Americans make a purchase the key driver is the personal utility of the good or service.
This practical understanding of value is rooted in the United States’ most important contribution to the field of philosophy. Although Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America writes: “I think that in no country in the civilized world is less attention paid to philosophy than in the United States,” the U.S. became the birthplace of pragmatism.
American thinkers Charles Sanders Pierce, John Dewey and Henry James believed that the meaning and truth of an idea is a function of its observable practical consequences. All ideas are hypotheses which must prove themselves through experience. Statements are validated through action and consequences. Americans prefer practical success – benefit – over principles.
In the United States, maintaining forward movement is critical to success. Americans purposely set high goals, hoping to “stretch” themselves. And although mistakes will be made, Americans see greater progress in learning from them than in setting modest goals. To be persuasive in the American context means to propose large steps forward and a vision of the future.
Americans say “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” The 19th century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” Americans take action in order to make things happen.
Americans recognize that problems are an inescapable part of life. Physicist Albert Einstein said that “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Americans, practical and optimistic, believe that “every cloud has a silver lining,” that there’s a “light at the end of every tunnel.” They see a half-full glass which others view as half-empty.
Instead of dwelling on the problem as such, Americans quickly begin the search for opportunities hidden in a given problem. Difficult situations often require making difficult choices. To be persuasive is to demonstrate that you have searched for and identified an opportunity.
Germans, especially those in technical fields, are born Schwachstellenanalytiker or weak point analysts. They actively seek out gaps, contradictions, imperfections. Problem erkannt, Gefahr gebannt – a German figure of speech – translates literally into “problem recognized, danger averted.”
The quality assurance departments in German companies test product prototypes against demanding, systematic standards, searching for any and all types of imperfections. German perfectionism is reflected in their stringent consumer protection laws, making companies liable for problems caused by their products.
“The hair in the soup” is a German figure of speech which describes well German Problembewusstsein – literally: problem-consciousness. “To look for a hair in the soup” goes even further, describing the strong German inclination to look for problems even in areas where they are not likely to exist.