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Literary notes about Complex (AI summary)

The term “complex” is deployed in literature to capture multifaceted intricacies, whether describing a method, structure, or idea. It often conveys that something is not straightforward but instead involves many interlocking parts or layers—as seen when mathematical reasoning is depicted as having numerous components [1] or when a detailed diagram is required to understand a subject’s nuances [2]. In contexts ranging from philosophy and psychology to grammar and architecture, “complex” denotes systems or constructs built from subordinate and interrelated elements, whether referring to a sentence’s multiple clauses [3][4] or an organization’s delicate balance susceptible to disruption [5]. Moreover, the word is applied to abstract ideas and emotions, illustrating how mental and even artistic realms are interwoven with layers that resist simple explanation [6][7].
  1. The method of solving is very complex. 284.—THE CROSS TARGET.— solution Twenty-one different squares may be selected.
    — from Amusements in Mathematics by Henry Ernest Dudeney
  2. As the subject is somewhat complex, I must request the reader to turn to the diagram in the fourth chapter.
    — from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
  3. They contain either compound or complex clauses, or both.
    — from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge
  4. (3) A complex sentence consists of two or more clauses, one of which is independent and the rest subordinate.
    — from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge
  5. 37 One traitor in each town would effectually destroy such a complex organization.
    — from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. Blount
  6. POWERS therefore justly make a great part of our complex ideas of substances.
    — from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 by John Locke
  7. The others were merely vulgar and greedy brutes, but he seemed moved by some complex intention.
    — from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

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