The Simplicity Principle by Julia Hobsbawm Summary
Overview of The Simplicity Principle
In a world drowning in complexity, Julia Hobsbawm's award-winning guide offers six hexagon-inspired steps to reclaim clarity. Winner of two US Business Book Awards, "The Simplicity Principle" reveals why companies like Apple and Amazon thrive by embracing what bees have always known - simplicity is nature's superpower.
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Key takeaways
When Everything Became Too Much and the Geometry of Solutions
Picture your brain as the world's most sophisticated supercomputer-86 billion neurons firing constantly, yet capable of holding only four to seven thoughts at once. Now imagine asking that computer to process 35,000 decisions daily while swimming through 3.3 zettabytes of internet data. Feel the circuits beginning to smoke? Welcome to modern life, where we've traded simplicity for what Julia Hobsbawm calls "CAT syndrome": Complexity, Anxiety, and too little Time. The cost isn't just stress-it's catastrophic. When Boeing's 737 MAX computers became too complex for pilots to override, 346 people died. Our brains respond similarly when overloaded-they simply shut down, entering what Hobsbawm calls "complexity cut-off." Yet there's an elegant solution hiding in plain sight, one that's been perfected over millions of years by creatures with brains far smaller than ours: the honeybee. Their secret? A six-sided framework that maximizes efficiency while minimizing waste. Why six sides? Mathematics offers the first clue: six is Euclid's "perfect number," its factors summing to itself (1+2+3=6). But honeybees reveal the deeper truth. Declared Earth's most important species in 2019, these insects build their entire civilization on hexagons-not circles, not squares, but six-sided structures that tile perfectly, creating maximum storage with minimum materials. Darwin noted that bees never alter this design because its geometry simply cannot be improved. The honeycomb begins as circular wax but hardens into hexagons, creating structures 200 times stronger than steel despite being paper-thin. This isn't random-it's evolution's answer to complexity. The Hexagon Action framework applies this natural wisdom through six principles, each distilled into six-word mantras that cut through chaos like a knife through honeycomb.
Making Decisions, Reclaiming Attention, and Building Better Habits
Embracing Your Individual Self in a Blended World
The Art of Powering Down and Curing Information Obesity
Connection in a Disconnected Age
Living Within the 168
Your Hexagon, Your Life
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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