Everyone wants simplicity. The same desires are there, whether the device is a new cell phone or a shop tool, the dashboard of an automobile or the choices offered while shopping in a store. “Why can’t my technology be as easy to use as my garage-door opener?” asks one paper on the topic. “One button and it opens or shuts the door. Simple, elegant.”

The cry has been picked up by everyday people, newspaper reviewers, and professionals alike. But if it is so obvious, if the need is so great, why don’t the products rise to the occasion? Everyone misses the point. Simplicity is not the goal…