This will be a brief discussion of LIMOs. LIMO is an acronym for “Less Is More”.
Commonsense LIMO
While MIMO (More is More) is often a better outcome than LIMO, sometimes pursuing LIMO is better. Poor dietary habits and MIMO food quantities result in obesity, and LIMO is a way to ameliorate the problem. Poor spending habits result in excess personal debt, and spending less results in more financial flexibility. The supply-and-demand economics of pursuing a scarcity of goods and services result in higher prices. Less inflation usually results in greater prosperity. Minimalist artists and designers naturally gravitate toward LIMO.
There are many examples of the beneficial aspects of LIMO. An exhaustive list is not necessary to make this point.
LIMO in Human Consciousness
Many neuroscientists believe that human consciousness is a complex neural network filtered and controlled inside a small part of the brain. While many believe that humans have an almost infinite ability to multitask or focus on more than one external activity at a time, the current theory is that humans lack this ability. The brain can simultaneously control many autonomic processes, process perceptions in the background, and perform other activities. However, focusing on more than one or two external stimuli is problematic.
Most experts believe that a person must FOCUS to perceive and learn about another person or external reality more fully. Hence, LIMO applies. The fewer external distractions, the richer the perception. A person listening to the television in the background, watching a baby walk across the room, reading a book, and listening to someone giving directions for cooking a complicated French dish will miss something. People who cannot focus are oblivious to essential facts and ramble through life. Their ignorance is caused by missing important details. They may have watched the baby instead of hearing how long it took to sauté the French dish. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, when you ask the person what happened on the television program, if the baby fell, what page he is on in the book, and the ingredients in the French dish. There are limits to a person’s ability to perceive, understand, and react to the world. Anyone who portrays himself as having superhuman multitasking awareness is a super-fraud.
Limiting external stimuli (LIMO) and focusing are valuable skills for human learning and consciousness.
LIMO in Political and Religious Movements
During the first half of the twentieth century, several political movements sought to upset the traditional societal order. One of the rallying cries was “the worse it gets, the better it gets.” Although not an exact quote from the Communist leader, Lenin, it was one of his essential messages. Lenin believed that LIMO in the socio-economic underpinnings of Russian society would lead to a working-class revolution, eventually resulting in a Communist paradise.
Some religions emphasize the need to personally pass through a LIMO phase to be converted to a particular religion. In other words, a person must understand the depravity and emptiness of life without religion. Some believe that by hitting “rock bottom,” they will lose their inhibition and reluctance to be swayed by the appeals of a religion.
LIMO in Artificial Intelligence
There is an active debate concerning the training data needed for large language models (LLMs). Training refers to the data requirements for LLMs to “understand” a particular topic. This training data is typically harvested from the internet and organized by the LLM. There is another active debate and conflict about theft of copyrighted material and the material’s accuracy, but that is a separate topic. Most American LLMs believe that massive amounts of training data are required. A Chinese approach has emerged recently that suggests their LLM can demonstrate complex reasoning can be achieved with LESS training material.
It remains to be seen if LIMO in LLMs results in superior performance.
LIMO in Twisted Logic
People often use LIMO or a “sour grapes” excuse when they attempt to excuse or rationalize bad news. The classic example of the sour grapes personal defense mechanism comes from the Aesop fable, The Fox and the Grapes:
One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a bine which had been trained over a lofty branch. ‘Just the thing to quench my thirst,’ quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the branch. Turning round with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in their air, saying: ‘I am sure they are sour.’
Many people use LIMO as an excuse for bad news or self-inflicted wounds.
There is a growing number of young men around the world who have been identified as “incels.” The incel subculture consists of men who have built their identity around involuntary celibacy. This subculture is primarily online, mostly white, and heterosexual. Although their hormones desire female companionship, their life habits and decisions have left them without a female partner. Over time, this frustration has resulted in the hatred of women, as expressed in hate speech or even overt violence toward women. So, instead of developing female relationships, incels believe in LIMO. The less they have to do with women, the better.
A very recent example of LIMO logic was Peter Navarro, Trump’s chief trade advisor, defending his tariff policy. Navarro said, “I’ve gotta say just one thing about today’s news: that’s the best negative print I have ever seen in my life!” Navarro said this after news broke that the gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% from January to March.
Navarro continued that if you “Strip out the negative effects of the surging imports because of the tariffs, you see that you actually had 3% growth.“
Navarro not only used LIMO to deflect the public from the Administration’s tariff policy failures, but he was also delusional in his basic facts. Why would a decline in the gross domestic product be great news? Declines occur during famines and other catastrophes, but how can a sudden decline after many quarters of positive growth be great news?
To prepare America for his new tariff war, President Trump recently warned America’s daughters that fewer dolls would be available this Christmas. Will America’s parents and children be satisfied with fewer dolls that cost more? Does this mean that America’s daughters will bear the brunt of the tariff war?
Will Trump, Navarro, and the others continue to use LIMO to defend against future economic chaos when the full impact of Liberation Day becomes fully manifest? Will MAGAs, RINOs, and CINOs (Conservatives in Name Only) be happy with a LIMO economy?