Twelve

Simplicity

Experts tell us that most people cannot meaningfully grasp numbers higher than a few thousand.

To quote the I-Ching: "By means of the easy and the simple we grasp the laws of the world. When the laws of the whole world are grasped, therein lies perfection."

Studying the architecture of this week I recognized how certain spaces and structures evoked more feeling and meaning than others.

I was more moved by architecture whose form was more perceivable - not lost in complex design schemes to impress. In many of the examples I favored, simplicity ruled.

With the growing penetration of technology in our lives, the irony is our life is not getting any simpler. Our lives are becoming increasingly complex. We consume, we pollute, we deceive. We begin to overlook and take for granted what is very true and good.

I believe it is important we teach our students the elegance of simplicity.


“Simplicity is the glory of expression” Walt Whitman

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci

“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow