Hillel's policy: keep it simple

Hillel teaches (Avot 2:5) that one should never make a statement that cannot at first be understood if one intends that it should be ultimately comprehended.

I came across a good example of the applicability of this axiom while listening to a conversation between a four and a half year-old boy and his mother. The subject of this discussion was the mother's brother (to protect his anonymity let's call him Archie):

Little boy: "Mummy, how old is uncle Archie?"

Mother: "Uncle Archie celebrated his 37th birthday only last week".

Little boy (somewhat puzzled): "Yes -- but how old is he now?"

Though the mother's response was perfectly correct, it didn't quite address the child's need: less information would have done the job better. The child in question had some comprehension of both numbers and the measurement of time but was sometimes confused by the way they were expressed. Thus sometimes he said he was "four and a half" but on occasion he would say he was "half past four".