A legend of one of the first shortcuts
There’s a very interesting tale about Alexander and the Gordian Knot. It is said that a very complex and almost impossible knot, known as the Gordian knot, was said to be undone only by a certain someone who would end up ruling over Asia, and Alexander stood up to the challenge and did things his way.
Now you’d think Alexander untied the knot in almost no time with no effort. However, he did quite the contrary. While his solution was aptly a ‘no effort solution,’ it took him time to cut off that knot. He didn’t untie but rather cut that knot off. We wonder if the person in charge questioned its legitimacy.