"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong"
About this Quote
Mencken’s line is a booby trap for the tidy-minded. It flatters the reader with clarity and then yanks the rug: the “clear, simple” answer isn’t merely incomplete, it’s wrong. That last word is the knife twist. Mencken isn’t warning that simplicity can be insufficient; he’s accusing it of being a kind of intellectual fraud, a sedative sold as medicine.
The intent is polemical, but the subtext is social. Mencken is describing a recurring market transaction in public life: citizens want solutions that feel like common sense, politicians and pundits supply them, and the satisfaction of understanding substitutes for the harder work of being accurate. The quote lands because it targets the emotion underneath bad reasoning - relief. Complexity is exhausting; a crisp narrative feels like rescue. Mencken suggests that feeling is exactly what makes it dangerous.
Context matters. Writing in the early 20th century, Mencken watched mass politics, advertising, and sensational journalism professionalize the art of persuasion. His cynicism isn’t abstract; it’s observational. “Clear” and “simple” are also aesthetic categories, the virtues of good copy. Mencken is implying that modern democracy rewards the best-sounding answer, not the truest one, and that rhetorical polish can function like a counterfeit seal of expertise.
The wit is doing work. By sounding like a neat aphorism, the sentence imitates the very temptation it condemns. It’s a simple, clear formulation about why simple, clear formulations fail. Mencken dares you to enjoy the elegance, then asks if you’ve just proven his point.
The intent is polemical, but the subtext is social. Mencken is describing a recurring market transaction in public life: citizens want solutions that feel like common sense, politicians and pundits supply them, and the satisfaction of understanding substitutes for the harder work of being accurate. The quote lands because it targets the emotion underneath bad reasoning - relief. Complexity is exhausting; a crisp narrative feels like rescue. Mencken suggests that feeling is exactly what makes it dangerous.
Context matters. Writing in the early 20th century, Mencken watched mass politics, advertising, and sensational journalism professionalize the art of persuasion. His cynicism isn’t abstract; it’s observational. “Clear” and “simple” are also aesthetic categories, the virtues of good copy. Mencken is implying that modern democracy rewards the best-sounding answer, not the truest one, and that rhetorical polish can function like a counterfeit seal of expertise.
The wit is doing work. By sounding like a neat aphorism, the sentence imitates the very temptation it condemns. It’s a simple, clear formulation about why simple, clear formulations fail. Mencken dares you to enjoy the elegance, then asks if you’ve just proven his point.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reason & Logic |
|---|---|
| Source | Evidence: from the property exactly the same revenue to a cent their system is very simple and admirabl Other candidates (2) H. L. Mencken (H. L. Mencken) compilation98.9% examples are for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear simple and wrong and Foundations for the Future in Mathematics Education (Richard A. Lesh, Eric Hamilton, James..., 2020) compilation95.0% ... For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. —H. L. Mencken There is a tendency... |
More Quotes by L. Mencken
Add to List
