A-Z Popular Blog Problem Solving Search »
Business Experiments
 Advertisements
Cause And Effect

Decision Making

Design Thinking

First Principles

Jugaad

Overthinking

12 Examples of The Path Of Least Resistance

 , July 29, 2019
The path of least resistance is the easiest path to a goal. This sounds like an obvious choice but can be problematic when your goal is narrow such that you miss the bigger picture by doing things the easy way. The following are illustrative examples of the path of least resistance.

Folk Physics

The path of least resistance is often used as a rule of thumb or heuristic in physics. For example, the rule of thumb that lightning is most likely to strike large grounded objects that are closest to the base of a thundercloud such as a tower or tree.

Principle of Least Effort

The principle of least effort is a rule of thumb in marketing and design that customers or users will almost always do things the easiest way. For example, if there is a pub in the basement of an office tower, teams in the offices above will be likely to socialize there as opposed to walking 5 blocks to the next closest pub. This may hold true even if the further pub has far better food.

Principle of Least Astonishment

The principle of least astonishment suggests that a design should do things the way the user expects unless there is a very good reason to change. For example, a user of a remote control expects a big red button at the top to be the power button. If you get creative and make this button the mute button, users won't be happy.

Desire Path

A desire path is the way that people naturally want to do things, usually because it's the easiest way. This is an important concept in design as going against a desire path can result in a design failure. For example, users of a microwave just want to hit a button and have their food heated to some reasonable temperature without answering a lot of questions. A microwave that makes it any harder than this could fail on the market.

Keep It Simple Stupid

An approach to problem solving that suggests that the simplest, most obvious solution is often the best. For example, a single switch that allows a pilot to quickly disable all automatic pilot functions of an aircraft if they are malfunctioning as opposed to 20 different multi-step procedures to disable 20 different automated functions.

Low Hanging Fruit

An analogy that suggests it is best to accomplish easy things before proceeding to harder things. This may or may not be a good idea depending on the value of each task. For example, it is common for executives to focus on easy to understand tasks such as an office interior design project and avoid difficult tasks that have far more value such as reinventing their business to stay competitive.

Pareto Principle

The pareto principle is the theory that 80% of a result is achieved with the first 20% of effort. For example, a student who can get an 80% score on a test with 3 hours of study but would need to study for 15 hours to get 100%. In this case, the path of least resistance is to do the 20% of work that gets you the 80% result.

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is a philosophy that considers something true if it is true for all practical purposes. For example, if people commonly believe flowers are beautiful, then they are beautiful.

Ethical Failure

Taking the easy way, even if it is ethically wrong. For example, continuing with a business that is obviously destroying the planet because you are getting paid.

Bread & Circuses

The observation that populations are often content with basic sustenance and entertainment. This can be seen in modern consumer behavior that often prioritizes entertainment, comfort, convenience and safety. This can be construed as a dark and uninspiring condition whereby people have given up on self-actualization as they prefer an easy and safe life.

Sour Grapes

Sour grapes stems from a myth about a fox that sees grapes that are out of reach so he assumes they are sour. This is an analogy to a common human behavior whereby it is easier to reduce our expectations than to achieve what we really want.

Lowering The Bar

Lowering the bar is when a society, organization, group or individual lowers their standards over time to make things easier. For example, a culture that begins to accept low quality food because its cheap and easy.
Overview: Path Of Least Resistance
Type
DefinitionThe easiest path to a goal.
Related Concepts

Thinking

This is the complete list of articles we have written about thinking.
Abductive Reasoning
Abstract Thinking
Abstraction
Aesthetics
Analogy
Analysis Paralysis
Analytical Thinking
Anomie
Argument From Silence
Arrow Of Time
Assertions
Automaticity
Backward Induction
Base Rate Fallacy
Benefit Of Doubt
Big Picture
Brainstorming
Call To Action
Catch 22
Causality
Choice Architecture
Circular Reasoning
Cognition
Cognitive Abilities
Cognitive Biases
Cold Logic
Collective Intelligence
Complexity Bias
Concept
Consciousness
Constructive Criticism
Convergent Thinking
Counterfactual Thinking
Creative Tension
Creeping Normality
Critical Thinking
Culture
Curse Of Knowledge
Decision Fatigue
Decision Framing
Decision Making
Design Thinking
Divergent Thinking
Educated Guess
Emotional Intelligence
Epic Meaning
Essential Complexity
Excluded Middle
Failure Of Imagination
Fallacies
Fallacy Fallacy
False Analogy
False Balance
False Dichotomy
False Equivalence
First Principles
Formal Logic
Four Causes
Fuzzy Logic
Generalization
Golden Hammer
Good Judgement
Grey Area
Groupthink
Heuristics
Hindsight Bias
Hope
Idealism
Ideas
If-By-Whiskey
Imagination
Independent Thinking
Inference
Influencing
Informal Logic
Information
Information Cascade
Introspection
Intuition
Inventive Step
Learning
Lifestyle
Logic
Logical Argument
Logical Thinking
Ludic Fallacy
Magical Thinking
Meaning
Mental Experiences
Mental State
Mindset
Misuse of Statistics
Natural Language
Nirvana Fallacy
Norms
Objective Reason
Objectivity
Opinion
Overthinking
Perception
Personal Values
Perspective
Positive Thinking
Practical Thinking
Pragmatism
Problem Solving
Proof By Example
Propositional Logic
Prosecutor's Fallacy
Radical Chic
Rational Thought
Realism
Reality
Reason
Reasoning
Red Herring
Reflective Thinking
Relativism
Salience
Scarcity Mindset
Scientism
Selective Attention
Serendipity
Situational Awareness
Sour Grapes
State Of Mind
Storytelling
Subjectivity
Systems Thinking
Thinking
Thought Experiment
Unknown Unknowns
Visual Thinking
Want To Believe
Whataboutism
Win-Win Thinking
Wishful Thinking
Worldview
If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable.
 

Problem Solving

An overview of problem solving with examples.

Research

The common types of research.

Cause And Effect

An overview of cause and effect with examples.

Thinking

An overview of thinking with examples.

Big Picture

The definition of big picture with examples.

Failure

The definition of failure with examples.

Keep It Simple Stupid

The definition of Keep It Simple Stupid with examples.

Thinking Examples

Examples of different types of thinking.

Problem Solving Skills

A list of common problem solving skills.

Decision Making

A list of decision making techniques.

Automaticity

The definition of automaticity with examples.

Inaction

The definition of inaction with examples.

Indecision

The definition of indecision with examples.

Moot Point

The definition of moot point with examples.
The most popular articles on Simplicable in the past day.

New Articles

Recent posts or updates on Simplicable.
Site Map