Pourquoi faire simple ?

Lu dans le dernier Edward de Bono reçu (Teach Your Child How To Think, 1992) le passage suivant :

The first rule of intellectualism is : 'If you do not have much to say, make it as complex as possible.' A true intellectual has as deep a fear of simplicity as a farmer has of droughts. If there is no complexity, what is there to work or write about ?

La rubrique ("How to be an intellectual") s'achève sur ces mots :

You can be a thinker without being an intellectual. Indeed many intellectuals are not particularly good thinkers.

Par chance, je tombe sur un passage de Simplicity dans lequel E. de Bono s'en prend à nouveau à ce mauvais penchant :

If you want to be taken very very seriously then write a very very complex book - in French, if possible. Several things then happen. 1. If you really have nothing to say, it is better to make it as complex as possible otherwise people will see that nothing is being said. 2. Critics will love the book because they will feel specifically privileged that only they can understand it. 3. Critics will find that there is a lot to write about the book - which is never the case with a simple book. 4. Academics will love the book because obviously the book reeds the special skill of the academic for its interpretation to ordinary people. 5. No one will dare criticize the book because they are never quite sure that they have understood it. 6. Any philosopher is free to read into the book anything he or she wants because the complexity encourages any interpretation. 7. People will buy the book to show their cultural superiority but will not actually read it. 8. A cult will develop around the mystique of the book. 9. It will naturally be assumed that the author is a very profound thinker struggling to express immensely complex thougths. 10. Any number of self-appointed intellectuals will have very good time enjoying the complexity. If you think these comments are unfair, just keep them in mind and keep your eyes open. You will find ample evidence to justify them. You wil find a mystique and adoration of the complex by those who cannot understand the simple.

La fin de cette rubrique est aussi très amusante. La voici :

The easiest way to be 'superior' is to understand what ordinary people cannot understand. If the matter is simple, how can you show your superiority ? The pseudo-understanding of what is really unintelligible is a great game - with many players.