[garmaine]

What I'm objecting to is the notion that there is a "fixed, non-zero level of complexity." Often real innovations in organization and structure allow for fundamentally simpler implementations. I'm reminded of physics: there's an inherent complexity in solving a rotational problem. But introduce polar coordinates and you fundamentally change the game, removing a dimension from your analysis for some problems, and making the solution trivial.

[firethief]

In this case your original estimate of the complexity was high due to a choice of coordinates increasing the incidental complexity of the solution