ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Integrative complexity

Integrative complexity is a fancy way of saying that someone is good at looking at lots of different ideas and figuring out how they all fit together. It's like putting together a puzzle, but instead of just fitting the pieces together, you also have to figure out how they relate to each other and what they mean as a whole.

Let's use an example. Imagine you are a kid and you're trying to make a cake. You might think about what ingredients you need, how much of each ingredient you should use, and what order you should mix them in. You might also think about how long to cook the cake, what kind of frosting to put on it, and whether to add any decorations.

Now imagine that you're a really good cake maker. You not only know what ingredients to use and how to mix them together, but you also understand why each step is important and how all the different parts of the cake work together to make a delicious treat. You might even be able to come up with new ideas for different flavors or decorations that work well with the basic cake recipe.

In the same way, someone who is good at integrative complexity is able to take lots of different ideas, like opinions on a topic or information from different sources, and understand how they all fit together. They might consider things like which ideas are most important, how different ideas relate to each other, and what bigger picture they create.

This skill is really important for people who have to make big decisions or solve complex problems. By being able to integrate lots of different ideas and perspectives, they can come up with better solutions and make more informed choices.