The point is that the Structuralist views a text as a complex entity having many interpretations. He attempts to find something more profound. Hornby considers the act of interpretation, not the text's meaning, to be either intrinsic or extrinsic. The interpretation is either intrinsic or extrinsic depending on where it ends up. Complexity and ambiguity are related terms though opposites.
Complexity implies multiple meanings, while ambiguity implies contradictory meanings.
This is very important in any type of art, and, unfortunately, has been lost or forgotten by many in society today. Hornby discusses the difference between associative and linear thinking. Associative thinking is a type in which an object evokes the receiver to think not only of the object itself, but of other objects or thoughts. Linear thinking only concerns itself with solving problems without considering side effects or questioning assumptions. Thus, with linear thinking, an object or action can only have one meaning, which, as Hornby states, is impossible.