# Name for this concept: obviousness of something being easy - until you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565 "2006-08-13T17:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/1 "2006-08-13T17:03:19Z")
One fact of life that everyone of us surely has learned after the first few years of adult life is: A lot of thing look easy to do - unless you are the one doing it. What I refer to is: Some tasks are obviously difficult/complicated (brain surgery etc.) but for a lot of tasks any naïve observer will ask: So, it’s obviously straightforward to do this - what’s taking them so long? And how can there ever be any mistakes? That’s _because_ that observer is naïve - as soon as he’s the one doing that tasks he will discover that there are [ul] [li]non-obvious second-order effects that will confound your efforts or even reverse the result if you don’t pay attention[/li][li]non-obvious special cases that must be checked for in every instance of a task[/li][li]non-obvious frequent attempts of people to game the system[/li][li]the ubiquitious complications of organizations (which are bound to be dismissed by any unprejudiced observer i.e. any who never has worked): pointy-haired bosses, rules, budgets, office politics etc.[/li][/ul] As this is such a basic fact of life to anyone with any life experience (my, am I sounding middle-aged there) this surely must be conceptualized e.g. as \*\* _Someone_’s law\*\*. So, is there a name for this concept? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/2 "2006-08-13T17:37:29Z")
Easier said then done? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/3 "2006-08-13T18:05:22Z")
A. Deceptively easy B. Deceptively difficult ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/4 "2006-08-13T18:20:05Z")
I call it the _Father Grumble Effect_. [Father Grumble](http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=skinner&book=verse2&story=john) (aka, _John Grumblie_, _Johnny Grumble_, _et al_) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/5 "2006-08-13T18:31:50Z")
The devil is in the details. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/6 "2006-08-13T18:41:05Z")
In Computer Science, we call it “programming.” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/7 "2006-08-13T19:05:32Z")
My friend and I consistently refer to this as “isn’t-it-just-as-easy-as” syndrome. This aforementioned phrase is often heard uttered by those oh-so-naïve co-workers (outside our department) that just have NO idea what is involved in our profession. We may make it LOOK easy… but shame on you if you can’t understand that LOOKING easy isn’t the same as BEING easy. We look on in a mixed form of pity and derision toward those that engage consistently in this mindset. So sad. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/8 "2006-08-13T19:23:08Z")
I thought it was called “management” ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/9 "2006-08-14T01:09:28Z")
In aikido (well at least in my dojo) we refer to it as the “Zone of Stupidity”. It is evidently some kind of clear transparent force field. It obviously surrounds the mat, since anyone sitting on the observers’ bench can see very easily what we ought to be doing and how easy it would be to do it, until he or she gets up and tries to do it. We also encapsulate it in the motto, “Fifth dan on the bench, fifth kyu on the mat” which isn’t very helpful if you don’t speak aikido etc. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/10 "2006-08-14T01:15:16Z")
Sounds like the “Armchair Quarterback Syndrome” (AQS). ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/11 "2006-08-14T01:53:38Z")
I personally refer to it as the “infinitely expanding prerequisites syndrome”: the seemingly simple and straightforward task that like an iceberg turns out to have a vast hidden underlying foundation of subroutine tasks necessary to make it possible. Also known as “having to forge a nail just to hang a picture on the wall”. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/12 "2006-08-14T02:24:03Z")
Political pundits? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/13 "2006-08-14T07:54:19Z")
There’s a saying in the game of Go, “The spectator is eight stones stronger”. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/14 "2006-08-14T08:14:46Z")
Know the problem well. I cringe whenever I hear the fateful words, “Why don’t you just…” The closest attempt I know of to reduce your issue to a law doesn’t have a name that I know of, but goes something like this:- For every large difficult complex problem, there is a simple solution. And it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/15 "2006-08-14T11:17:08Z")
“That’s actually a lot harder than it looks?” Hmm. Perhaps that’s over-literal. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/16 "2006-08-14T17:51:14Z")
> [@Noel Prosequi](#): > > Know the problem well. I cringe whenever I hear the fateful words, “Why don’t you just…” GAAAHHHH! I HATE that! [grumble grumble grumble, wanders off to throttle requirements lead…] ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/17 "2006-08-14T18:02:44Z")
> [@Noel Prosequi](#): > > Know the problem well. I cringe whenever I hear the fateful words, “Why don’t you just…” Or when you’ve finally figured out how to do the complex thing correctly, and some dumbshit comes along and asks “Why don’t you do it this way? It’s easier.” Because it is WRONG! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/18 "2006-08-14T18:28:19Z")
Growing up, I had a friend whose dad was an auto mechanic. He made a very tidy living at it, but nowhere near as tidy as the $300K/yr doctors and lawyers whose abortive attempts at home auto repair he was often contracted to fix. He used to call it “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-this-concept-obviousness-of-something-being-easy-until-you-do-it/368565/19 "2006-08-14T21:09:12Z")
A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley, when he spotted a world-famous heart surgeon in his shop. The heart surgeon was waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his bike. The mechanic shouted across the garage, “Hey Doc can I ask you a question?” The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, “So Doc, look at this engine. I also can open it up, take valves out, fix’em, put in new parts and when I finish this will work just like a new one. So how come I get a pittance and you get the really big money, when you and I are doing basically the same work?” The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic, "Try doing it while it’s running!