BUILDING BLOCKS

"Simplicity is the Basis of all things Complex" 

In May 2013, I took my family with me to do volunteer medical work at Braun Memorial Rural Hospital in Finschaffen, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. For me, Braun Memorial Rural Hospital - the staff and the hospital community, have a special significance in my life and career development. I started my career as a young registered medical doctor in year 2009 out in this simple rural hospital - a humble beginning.

One evening Mr. Gelinde Narekine (initiator of Braun Health Foundation) and myself were conversing about medical science topics. We talked about molecular biology, physiology and immunology. It was very interesting and intellectual discourse. One of the topics of molecular biology that was really interesting was epi-genetics which I frankly did not have much insight into, so I learnt a lot from him. However, one thing we both agreed on is this, to really understand the complexities of the biological systems, one must have a firm understanding of the basics. This is how he simply puts it - "Simplicity is the Basis of all things Complex". Very profound statement indeed.

It has an element of truth that is cross cutting. This statement can be interpreted from different perspectives. Lets take a look at it from the view of a physicist: the basics of understanding physics is having a firm understanding of the laws that govern energy and matter. This will take us back to the basic physics taught at high school - Newton's Laws of motion, Law of Gravity, Law of Conservation of mass-energy, Thermodynamic Laws, etc. Physics builds on these basic laws or principles. They set the platform to grasp the complexities of physics. Let's look at it from the another perspective, the Economist: the basics of understanding economics depends on the basic principles of economics - e.g. the cost of something is what you give up to get, the standard of living depends on the country's production, prices rise when the government prints too much money, etc. Having a firm grasp of this basic principles, one can be the master of economics. The same can be true for other fields of science, mathematics and social science. The successful accumulation, in depth appreciation, and reasonable application of the great wealth of knowledge begins with a better understanding of the basic principles that exist in each field of study.

Now I want to take a different turn in my perspective of this statement. Take a closer look at matter. In physics, matter is defined as anything that has mass and occupies space. Physical chemistry proves that the building blocks of matter are the elements. An element (remember the periodic table) is composed of the atoms and the sub-atomic particles - electrons, protons, neutrons and nucleus, that are held together by electrostatic forces. The atoms unite to form molecules which form what we observe as matter. Ponder a while about the things around you and look at yourself: at the core are the basic sub-atomic particles that are pulled together to form what you see and feel. Take a look at living things, the human body. The basic unit is the living cell that is composed of the organelles, the organelles come together to form the cell, similar cells group together to form tissues, tissues form organs and organs form systems (cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine,etc). What you see in the physical world are the product of the cohesion and functional and structural configuration of very minute but  significant basic units of matter and life. Take away the sub-atomic particles, the atom, the cells and you are left with nothing - simplicity is the basis of all things complex.

I heard about  Professor Ben Carson as a boy in my local church during the book club times. Since then his stories have been a source of motivation and inspiration to me. He is famous for the separation of the Siamese twins (twins joined at the back of the head) in 1987. He holds more than sixty honorary doctorates, a member of many prestigious organisations and he was awarded the prestigious "Presidential Medal of Freedom" in 2008. He has a distinguished career. However, in his early childhood he had all the recipe to preclude such a distinguished career. Something happened. His third-grader mother challenged him to strive for excellence. He got his head stuck on books and he persisted. Had he not listened to his third-grader mother's advise and persevered, he would not rise to his distinguished career.It was the simple things - reading, perseverance and trusting in God, that exalted him to his distinguished career. 

The simple things, the little things, the things often taken for granted  eventually sum up. They are the building blocks of life. There is a pattern in our world that is obvious to the inquisitive mind. The pattern is perfectly summed in this profound statement - Simplicity is the Basis of all things Complex.