A problem thoroughly understood is always fairly simple. — Charles Kettering · Smartyfair

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A problem thoroughly understood is always fairly simple. — Charles Kettering · Smartyfair

A problem thoroughly understood is always fairly simple.

Charles Kettering1876–1958 · inventor · 1800s-1900s USACharles Kettering was an American engineer and inventor who created the electric self-starter for cars, which meant drivers no longer had to crank their engines by hand.1 quote

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In plain words

Once you really understand a problem, it stops looking scary.

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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 50% sureLots of sources credit Charles Kettering with this, and they agree with each other. The book or the speech it first came from hasn't turned up yet.
What turned up: Cited to Dynamic Work Simplification (1971), a posthumous compilation (Kettering, GM's longtime head of research, died 1958) — held at likely per the posthumous-compilation rule.
Sources checked: en.wikiquote.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 21 August 2026Sourced section, cites Dynamic Work Simplification (1971), p.122

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