Simple Solutions and Complex Problems

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The Internet is a great place to go if you’re looking for a solution. It doesn’t matter what kind of problem you have, somebody is bound to have crafted a solution that they will tell you will fix all of your issues.

Even if your problem is that you are surfing around on the Internet too much, yeah there’s an app for that. Of course, there isn’t always a guarantee that your problem will actually be solved, but then that’s why we have the timeless phrase, caveat emptor.

Whenever somebody is approaching you with a simple and easy solution to some kind of need, warning bells should always go off in your head. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. This is especially true with regard to systems that are man-made, and essentially born out of complexity. Balancing the Federal budget, fixing the economy, developing software, all complex systems that when presented with simple changes rarely react without unintended consequences.

However, sometimes the most complex of issues can have surprisingly simple fixes, though this would seem to happen primarily in the realm of natural systems. There is no doubt that the universe is a vast and infinitely complex and interconnected system. This complexity remains intact at a fractal level, being maintained at the size of galaxies down to the structure and interaction of molecules.

The main difference between man-made systems and natural systems (at least within the confines of this discussion) is that with natural systems the requirements or methods for achieving homeostasis or equilibrium are built right in. Whether you believe the universe was created by design or evolved through random events, the fact remains that on a whole it is marvelously self-regulating and correcting to a level which is awe-inspiring.

Man-made and man-controlled systems on the other hand, perfectly illustrate the general arrogance and ignorance that still pervades the human race, despite our seemingly incredible technological advancements. One can just look at online social networks, which seem to explode with angst or frustration every time the custodians try to enact a solution or feature for a complex problem.

When humans are at the helm of their own creations, things rarely seem to go as planned. The planet Earth however, seems to take catastrophes and widespread changes in stride, following a built in code that has guided its evolution and growth for eons. Until somebody invents and builds a Death Star battlestation, things will generally be OK for our little blue world, even if from our minuscule frame of reference it seems like the end is near.

Owing to that fractal nature of organic systems, we can generally look at the human body (and species as a whole) in a similar light. While we are currently confronted with seemingly disastrous health issues, there should be no doubt that the family of human animals has faced and overcome extreme calamities in the past. Life goes on.

We may continue to increase our understanding of the human body, and through that learning develop new ways to control it’s functioning. But, the wise will acknowledge that with each new question we answer, ten more new ones will likely apear in its place. It is with that guiding principle that we should be wary of the suggestions that any issues we currently face are born out of simple problems.

• Fat? You eat too much.
• Sick? Too many toxins.
• Tired? You don’t sleep enough.

Presenting problems in a simple manner can be convenient because it makes understanding of the issue much more accessible to a wide audience of people. However, this inadvertently leaves the door open for much greater misinterpretation, or misdiagnosis. And, probably more often than not, it paradoxically fosters the capability to provide complex solutions via an enterprising entity.

• Identify problem as simple.
• Provide complex solution that requires your expertise or product.
• Profit

I like to think of the Zone Diet and “real food” paleo or primal diets as good examples of this dichotomy.

With the Zone, you basically have inflammation presented as the simple problem, that accounts for the majority of what ails people. I certainly wouldn’t discount the large influence that inflammatory factors have on human health, but I also wouldn’t say it’s as simple as reduce inflammation and you’re fine. So with inflammation the simple problem, the Zone Diet enters as the complex solution.

The program involves having food portions divvied up and micromanaged at a scale bordering on obsessive behavior. If you look at nutrition within the scope of evolutionary concepts, it’s ludicrous to think that humans would need to acquire sustenance within such precise limits and ratios in order to prevent ill health. All you have to do is read from an anthropology book to argue against that. The wide variety of macronutrient ratios that supported healthy populations kind of disproves the hypothesis right out of the gates.

No, the problem is actually incredibly complex, and we don’t understood the role of diet and nutrition in human health nearly as well as we’d like to think. The current and ongoing debates over carbohydrate ratios within the context of fat gain or fat loss, should be evidence enough of that.

However, when we look again at our human health issues from the scope of natural and evolutionary systems, we can see that a simple solution has been staring us in the face the entire time. A lion doesn’t need to consult a nutrition fact book or bust out a measuring scale before feasting on a gazelle. It just does what it was programmed to do by its genetics. Archaic human beings functioned in a similar way, up until the point that we determined on our own that it would be advantageous to live within the bounds of parameters of our own design.

• Agriculture
• Civilization
• Technology

So, what is the simple solution to our complex problem?

In short, it would be to eat and live within the bounds of what our inherited DNA expects of us. Those well-steeped in the rhetoric of the paleo diet would recognize that straight away. But, don’t ever forget that it is you and your body which is the property of your DNA, and not the other way around. Voluntarily abstaining from eating food for more than two weeks is an excellent way to test that principle.

Still, even within the community of the paleo lifestyle, people seem to strive to simplify the problems, and increase the complexity of the solutions. Should I eat this or that, is my macronutrient ratio appropriate, am I pooping enough, etc. I’ve been guilty of this. We want our solutions to be extensively defined and concrete, so that we might become the supposed master of yet another realm of the natural world, our own bodies. It’s a fool’s errand.

I don’t think it is folly to seek out knowledge and gain further understanding of these systems, as this can provide useful context within a modern society that in many ways obfuscates the signals which nature is constantly sending us. However, having this understanding is in no way necessary in order to be healthy. Otherwise it would have been our paleolithic ancestors who were sick and fat, and modern people the pinnacle of robustness and vitality. Quite obviously, it is the reverse.

Again, what is the simple solution to our complex problem, slightly more well defined but not yet approaching the realm of complex?

• Eat real food.
• Eat till satiety, and then stop eating.
• Sometimes, don’t eat.

Sure, what constitutes “real food” creates other questions and debates, but if you approach those issues within the logical and theoretical framework which is “paleo”, the solution again remains quite simple. Real food constitutes those things which the human animal adapted to consume, and which don’t require such levels of processing and technology to have been unavailable throughout the period of human evolution during which the vast majority of our DNA was engendered. Simply put, the more modern the appearance of a food item, the less likely it is to fit in the category of “real”.

Until the vast majority of people understand and accept that ancestral or traditional dietary practices are the simple way forward, I’ll remain skeptical that any of our major health issues will ever be resolved. Too many of us remain convinced of our own superiority and mastery over this planet and its natural systems.

Yes, the way forward is simple, and humble. But perhaps, that is precisely why so many people refuse to accept it as truth. It’s just too good to be true.