complex ideas
Hard to grasp
Complex ideas are thoughts or concepts that resist simple explanation, typically involving multiple interrelated parts, abstract reasoning, or nuanced distinctions.
The phrase often appears when someone needs to convey that a subject demands careful attention: The book tackles complex ideas about consciousness and free will.
What counts as complex depends on the audience—quantum mechanics is complex to most people, basic arithmetic to almost no one.
- abstractCondensed version of text
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- nuancedHaving fine distinctions
- layeredHaving multiple levels
- deep diveComprehensive examination of topic
philosophy · theory · labyrinthine · tangled · rabbit hole · profound · food for thought · dense · multifaceted · moving parts · conceptual · big picture · convoluted · subtle · depth · paradox · enigma · systems
- empiricismempiricism, positivism, empirical research, inductive reasoning, Vienna Circle
complex ideassimple ideas
Uncomplicated concepts or thoughts
black-and-white thinking · common sense · no-brainers · gut feelings
complex ideasplatitudes
Trite moral remarks
truisms · conventional wisdom · clichés · received wisdom · folk wisdom
complex ideaspractical knowledge
Skill gained through experience
common knowledge · folk wisdom · rules of thumb · lived experience · street smarts
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