“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
A Fox boasted to a Cat of its many clever devices for escaping enemies. “I have hundred ways of escaping my enemies,” said the Fox. The Cat replied, “I have only one.”
Just at that moment, they heard a pack of hounds coming quickly. The Cat immediately scampered up a tree and hid. “This is my plan,” said the Cat.
While the Fox debating his options, the hounds came nearer and nearer, and at last the Fox, by his delay, was caught and killed by the Huntsmen.
Moral of the Story: Keep it simple. Too many options complicate the decision. Simple plan, easy execution.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: Our pride will sometimes indulge us into thinking that we are so much more sophisticated than the ancients. But, in truth, societies evolve, technologies evolve, machines evolve, but human nature has remained rather simple:
Survival, reproduction, attraction to pleasure, and avoidance of pain. The environments change, but our simple human nature persists.
In this regard, we are humbled by the painful admission that we remain just about as evolved as our dogs. Or, as the introduction in 2001 Space Odyssey suggests, just about as evolved as, well, apes.
In our 2,000 year old fable, Aesop taught (and continues to teach) the same principle set forth by our best current thought-leaders, being the well-known concept of “Paralysis by Analysis”; that is, overthinking the options. Sometimes, simplicity is more effective.
This principle also has been set forth in the well-known corollary, the KISS acronym: “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. A bit less vogue in tonality as of late, but it still makes the point, simply. The Cat had a simple plan, easily executed, but the oft clever Fox outwitted himself.
My family once asked me to buy shampoo at the grocery store. There were so many options that I had to call back for assistance simply to find the one “for normal hair.” This again happened to me at the grocery store when buying my go-to olive oil that now has “Bold” and “Mild” versions. This option caused me to switch brands, because I did not want to spend my time contemplating new options for olive oil (that my Italian grandmothers never mentioned).
We are reminded of the wisdom of Henry Ford in discussing the Model T:
“The customer can have a car painted any color that the customer wants, so long as it is black.”
And Ulysses S. Grant:
“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.”
And with props to Aesop by Albert Einstein:
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” and “Everything should be made as simple possible, but not simpler.”
And, it goes without saying here, what is said as a preface to every Essential Aesop fable from genius Leonardo da Vinci, and adopted as a technological human standard by genius Steve Jobs:
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Sure, sometimes complexity is necessary, and, sure, sometimes a lot of options can be good, but not always.
And wisdom is knowing the difference.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
“It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience”. (“Everything should be made as simple possible, but not simpler.”) ~ Albert Einstein, [attrib.]
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ ONE®: The Unified Gospel of Jesus: 1040
“Know thyself.” ~ Socrates
“Just Do It.” Nike, Inc. (perhaps also, Nike, Goddess of Victory)
2001 Space Odyssey [Stanley Kubrick] [MUID24X] – 2001 Space Odyssey: The Dawn of Man
ChatGPT Review
Here is a deep-dive analysis of Gregg Zegarelli’s Essential Aesop™ Back to Basics Abridgment Series article:
“Paralysis by Analysis; Or, KISS – No. 97 – The Fox and the Cat”
→ [GRZ98_97 / GRZ37X Companion Article]
🦊 THE FABLE: SYNOPSIS & FUNCTION
Aesop’s Original Fable
- A Fox boasts about its many escape plans.
- A Cat says it has only one.
- When danger arrives (hounds), the Cat acts immediately and survives by climbing a tree.
- The Fox, paralyzed by too many choices, is caught and killed.
Function of the Fable
- This fable is pedagogically minimalist: it requires very little narrative space to convey a maxim of enduring value.
- It contrasts verbosity (Fox) with efficacy (Cat).
- The story is structurally binary: it presents a choice between simple & effective versus complex & ineffective—without gray zones, forcing the reader to engage with the stark consequences of delay.
🧠 THE PEDAGOGY: PHILOSOPHICAL AND STRATEGIC TEACHING
1. Principle of Simplicity
Zegarelli begins and ends with the same quote:
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci (adopted by Steve Jobs)
This quote becomes the thematic anchor for the piece—everything revolves around it.
The use of Einstein’s variant:
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler,”
introduces the qualifier that separates wisdom from mere reductionism.
Strategic Thesis: Simplicity is not naïveté; it is distilled power.
2. Modern Framing – Paralysis by Analysis
Zegarelli updates Aesop by connecting it to:
- “Paralysis by analysis”: a modern cognitive bias where overthinking stalls decision-making.
- KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid): a 20th-century engineering and design principle advocating minimalism in execution.
⚖️ Zegarelli shows that what we call “modern wisdom” is often ancient wisdom rephrased.
This invites cognitive humility—one of Zegarelli’s frequent themes: don’t overvalue modernity; humanity’s struggles are ancient.
3. Human Nature Is Unchanged
“Societies evolve, technologies evolve… but human nature has remained rather simple.”
Zegarelli’s ethos here is aligned with Darwinian realism and Stoic detachment:
- Four drives: survival, reproduction, pleasure-seeking, pain-avoidance.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey’s apes = us.
The message: intellectual arrogance obscures that our instincts are still primitive.
The implication: Complexity is often cosmetic. Simplicity reveals truth.
4. Anecdotal Proof – Shampoo & Olive Oil
These anecdotes serve multiple pedagogical purposes:
- Relatability: makes high-concept teachings emotionally accessible.
- Satirical edge: mild humor exposes how the consumer market weaponizes choice to disorient, not empower.
In this way, the shampoo/olive oil examples validate the Cat’s virtue—action unclouded by noise.
5. Comparative Quotations: A Chain of Simplicity
Zegarelli builds a hierarchy of affirmation:
- Ford (business logic): limit options for production efficiency.
- Grant (military logic): locate, strike, move on.
- Einstein (scientific logic): simplify without oversimplifying.
- Jesus & Socrates (ethical logic): reduce morality and philosophy to a principle.
- Nike (marketing logic): reduce to one directive—do it.
This collage of genius converges around a single virtue: effective simplicity, derived from clarity of self and purpose.
📚 META-PEDAGOGY: TEACHING THE TEACHER
Zegarelli doesn’t just teach what to value (simplicity), but how to teach:
- Repetition of the da Vinci quote bookends the piece = structural simplicity.
- Real-life modern parallels = practical pedagogy.
- Cross-disciplinary references (business, science, religion, marketing) = transcultural pedagogy.
- Comparison of “simple plan, easy execution” versus “many clever plans, fatal indecision” = binary dilemma pedagogy.
He isn’t just saying “keep it simple”—he models it.
🧭 ETHICAL CONCLUSIONS & STRATEGIC APPLICATIONS
- Simplicity is not intellectual laziness.
It is intellectual refinement, especially when clarity enables speed and survival. - Excess options can obscure duty.
The Fox dies not from ignorance but from indecision—a moral failure disguised as cleverness. - Wisdom = knowing when complexity is false sophistication.
Zegarelli warns us not to mistake mental noise for mental sharpness. - Disciplined action beats theoretical elegance.
The Cat wins because it acts. This reflects Zegarelli’s broader ethos of virtuous execution.
🏛️ INTEGRATION INTO ZEGARELLI’S BROADER ETHOS
This article reinforces multiple recurring themes:
| Theme | Connection |
|---|---|
| Character > Cleverness | Fox’s wit fails; Cat’s discipline wins. |
| Simplicity as Virtue | Aligns with Stoic, Socratic, and Christian thought. |
| Consumer Culture as a Trap | Shampoo anecdote critiques modern marketing. |
| Self-Knowledge as Foundation | “Know thyself” – the Cat knows its one plan and executes. |
| Narrative Minimalism as Power | Aesop fable and article itself both embody the principle they teach. |
🧩 FINAL TAKEAWAY
Zegarelli’s use of The Fox and the Cat is not merely an endorsement of simplicity—it is a critique of our culture’s false idolization of sophistication. His message is counter-cultural:
The truest sophistication lies in distilled clarity, not in dazzling complexity.
To live well, lead well, and think well, you must learn what to cut away.
20250617.4o
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paralysis-analysis-kiss-97-fox-cat-essential-aesop-zegarelli-esq-/
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