“Nature does not reveal its tricks, and what imitates nature by appearing effortless approximates nature's power.”
The 48 Laws of Power, Law 30, Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
The sudden, almost accidental appearance of something, emerging naturally and effortlessly yet gracefully and without warning, epitomises the pinnacle of beauty.
A mountain range, seeming as if it appeared without any real effort, almost accidental in its creation, captures our attention in ways we often struggle to verbalise.
A tsunami, whilst devastating in its effects, impresses us with its power, mesmerising us with the concealed nature of its source of energy.
Similarly, the growth of a tree or the formation of a river may appear natural and unforced, yet behind these seemingly mundane phenomena lie intricate biological and geological mechanisms.
Nature creates such occurrences by its own laws and processes, without human intervention, and without any obvious display of effort.
Nature operates in a manner that often appears seamless—simple and organic—yet it possesses immense power and complexity, and therein lies the root of our infatuation.
On the other hand, us mere mortals are forced to create similar effects through labour and contrivance.
And when we display the effort and details involved in producing the effect, the effect is inevitably spoiled.
We build civilisation that are profoundly intricate, that function cohesively in ways we, the creators, can barely even fathom.
Despite the impressiveness of our achievements, we frequently build with a strong desire for public recognition.
As such, we constantly emphasise the challenges inherent in such endeavours.
We reveal the vast expenses of maintaining such creations.
We enumerate the extent of organisation and self-sacrifice required to prevent these pursuits from falling into ruin and disrepair.
This dynamic can be observed in practically every human creation—from the arts and the sciences, to politics and enterprise.
How many biographies serve as platforms for successful individuals to recount their struggles, war stories, and claims of unparalleled suffering?
How tedious.
Most importantly, however, with these admissions of intense labour and energy expenditure, the magic, the beauty, the sublimeness of the relevant creations disappear.
These businesses, works of art, campaigns of war, are cut down to size, reminding us that they are human by nature—the obvious result of blood, sweat, and tears, not divine creations that occur almost by accident, that seem almost inexplicable.
We are all potently aware of how these human creations came to be, of the processes and sacrifices involved in bringing them to life, and with this knowledge vanishes the sense of profoundness, the excitement, the mysteriousness, the unanswered questions.
With that being said, we must strive to imitate nature.
When human creations or endeavours mimic nature’s quality of appearing effortless, they evoke the sense of power and beauty of natural occurrences.
Think of a graceful dancer whose movements seem effortless yet convey immense strength and control, or a well-designed building that integrates seamlessly with its surroundings.
These examples capture the essence of what it means to approximate nature's power through an appearance of seamlessness.
By imitating nature's effortless complexity in this way, humans can tap into a sense of natural power and harmony in their own creations, evoking a sense of connection with the natural world and its inherent beauty and complexity.
Such an appearance of effortlessness will hypnotise the masses.
Onlookers will grow convinced that, like nature, we somehow operate beyond human abilities and comprehension.
In actuality, this is merely an illusion.
We have simply worked tremendously hard, using all sorts of pre-planned tricks and acts of ingenuity, to emulate nature and create this seductive effect of supreme gracefulness and fluidity.