# Things which should be simple, but which are not **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2019, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401 "2019-05-23T12:00:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/21 "2019-05-23T23:04:47Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > beef pepperoni rather than the usual pork. Was it different? Better? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/22 "2019-05-23T23:16:57Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Ordering fast food used to be simple and fast. Now, not so much. Huh? Yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/23 "2019-05-23T23:33:07Z")
I was surprised at how complicated the electric range is in my mom’s retirement home. Digital with push buttons. I miss the simplicity of a knob for bake/broil and a thermostat knob. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/24 "2019-05-23T23:58:33Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Was it different? Better? It wasn’t noticeably different as far as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/25 "2019-05-24T01:00:51Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > In grad school I was on a group project with a very diverse group which included a Muslim guy from Jordan and a guy from India (And yes, we did in fact sometimes all walk into a bar together). Whenever we ordered pizza the Jordanian guy always insisted on ordering it from a halal place that used beef pepperoni rather than the usual pork. We were lucky that the Indian guy wasn’t a strict religious Hindu and was ok with eating beef or veggie pizza would have been about the only option. Seems like ordering two pizzas would solve this dilemma. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/26 "2019-05-24T02:11:02Z")
Copying a long list of numbers printed on a sheet of paper to a computer without making a mistake. When you have to sign and give back a receipt in a drive thru. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/27 "2019-05-24T02:12:17Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > In grad school I was on a group project with a very diverse group which included a Muslim guy from Jordan and a guy from India (And yes, we did in fact sometimes all walk into a bar together). Whenever we ordered pizza the Jordanian guy always insisted on ordering it from a halal place that used beef pepperoni rather than the usual pork. We were lucky that the Indian guy wasn’t a strict religious Hindu and was ok with eating beef or veggie pizza would have been about the only option. Combining the complexities of food with the complexities of religion. Well played! ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/28 "2019-05-24T03:31:42Z")
**Things which should be simple, but which are not** Getting out of bed. Giving a shit. ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/29 "2019-05-24T04:58:50Z")
I like to compare things to driving a car. I get in my car, turn the key, put it in drive, and go. I get home, park the car, and walk away. Compare this to my desktop computer. I turn on the power strip, turn on the computer, sign in, wait 5 minutes for it to update, click on something, do work. Click on the turn it off button, wait 5 minutes for it to finish installing updates, get bored, turn off the power strip, walk away in anger knowing that next time I want to use my computer I will have to wait for it to finish the updates. Who would buy a car if they knew that when they wanted to go somewhere they had to first wait for 15 minutes before they could start the car because it was “updating”. And when they got to their destination, they couldn’t turn the car off until it was done installing the updates. So basically turning a computer on and off should be as simple as turning a light on and off, but instead it takes forever and you have no choice about what the computer is doing. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/30 "2019-05-24T05:07:56Z")
> [@pabstist](#): > > I like to compare things to driving a car. I get in my car, turn the key, put it in drive, and go. I get home, park the car, and walk away. > > Compare this to my desktop computer. I turn on the power strip, turn on the computer, sign in, wait 5 minutes for it to update, click on something, do work. Click on the turn it off button, wait 5 minutes for it to finish installing updates, get bored, turn off the power strip, walk away in anger knowing that next time I want to use my computer I will have to wait for it to finish the updates. > > Who would buy a car if they knew that when they wanted to go somewhere they had to first wait for 15 minutes before they could start the car because it was “updating”. And when they got to their destination, they couldn’t turn the car off until it was done installing the updates. > > So basically turning a computer on and off should be as simple as turning a light on and off, but instead it takes forever and you have no choice about what the computer is doing. Just don’t turn it off. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/31 "2019-05-24T09:57:37Z")
Here’s another one - Clothing. This is a concept that, in its essence, is purely utilitarian, but in virtually every society ever, is so much more complex… and without immediately obvious value being added. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/32 "2019-05-24T12:21:36Z")
Simple sex is boring sex. Buying something you’ve already chosen to buy should be simple. The closest department store to my house is K-Mart. I hardly ever go there because the act of purchasing my items, the act of giving them my money, is painfully difficult. Their process to complete a transaction is slow, they ring up slow, they ask for personal information, products are poorly marked. They keep the minimum number of cashiers open, so there is always a line, even if the store isn’t busy. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/33 "2019-05-24T13:28:16Z")
I’m a vegetarian and I don’t drink. Convincing some people that you don’t want any meat or alcohol should be a simple “No, thanks.” It ain’t. When we order pizza at my job, they order a ham and pineapple “and make sure to have just pineapple on two slices. No ham. And a diet soda.” ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/34 "2019-05-24T18:43:21Z")
With one’s spouse/partner/better half - “Where do you want to eat tonight?” ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/35 "2019-05-24T21:56:16Z")
Splitting a check when a group goes out to eat. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve paid the whole check because somebody resented that his GF didn’t drink any of the pitcher of beer…only soda from the pitcher of that we ordered. Seriously. The guy is paying $8.00 for two shares of pizza and drinks and is pissed off because he thinks it should be $7.50? I refuse to go out with my wife to have lunch with her friends because they do exactly the same sort of thing. Out of five people at the table, only three had any of THIS specific appetizer. “Really…I only ate the free bread, so I should not have to pay that extra 84 cents!!” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/36 "2019-05-24T22:20:39Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > When we order pizza at my job, they order a ham and pineapple “and make sure to have just pineapple on two slices. No ham. And a diet soda.” Wait a minute. I thought you worked for a store owned by Jewish people. Why would they order a pizza with ham? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/37 "2019-05-24T22:23:50Z")
Oh shit, Columbo is in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/38 "2019-05-24T22:38:32Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Simple sex is boring sex. Not always. But I get your point. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/39 "2019-05-24T23:15:18Z")
Printing your files ought to be stone easy. But first you have to find printer drivers and the right cable and determine whether that “low ink” message is true or just a bug in the printer. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401/40 "2019-05-24T23:47:00Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Oh shit, Columbo is in the house. What the heck is that supposed to mean? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-which-should-be-simple-but-which-are-not/834401.md?page=3)