I've been doing some mundane web page editing recently which leaves lots of time to semi-watch and fully listen to TED talks. This morning I watched John Maeda of MIT Media Lab talk about simplicity patterns.
This slide stood out to me:
Ask any child if they want the big or small cookie and they want the big one, even if the small one has Godiva flecks of chocolate.
Ask a child whether they want the large pile of laundry to fold or the small. You guessed it, they want the small.
In other words, more is related to what we consume, less is related to work. The point that John is making is that
simplicity is about living life with more enjoyment and less pain. These are words coming from a guy who's life is surrounded by complexity living at the intersection of technology and art...and being a father to five daughters!
Intrigued? It's a great TED talk to which. John is very amusing to listen to. Listen here.
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