It Is Always the Simple That Produces the Marvelous - Amelia Barr

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity. — Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus’s observation begins by highlighting a pervasive human tendency: taking simple ideas and wrapping them in unnecessary complexity. In academic circles, jargon-laden prose is frequently criticized for obscur...

Simple things should be simple; complex things should be possible. - Alan Kay

Alan Kay

Alan Kay’s line captures an ideal that good systems repeatedly strive for: everyday actions shouldn’t require extraordinary effort, yet ambitious goals shouldn’t be blocked by rigid limitations. In other words, the commo...

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. — Alan Watts

Alan Watts

Alan Watts’s line cuts against the habit of treating life as a riddle to be solved. Instead of offering a grand theory, he points to something embarrassingly direct: the fact of being alive is already the “answer.” In th...

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.  - Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke’s line points less to technology’s objective power than to our subjective limits: when we don’t understand how something works, we experience it as wonder.

I don't say no because I am so busy. I say no because I don't want to be busy. — Courtney Carver

Courtney Carver

Courtney Carver’s line flips a familiar excuse on its head. Instead of declining because the calendar is full, she declines to keep it from becoming full in the first place.

Clutter is costly. Simplicity isn't about restriction; it's about freedom. — Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Cal Newport’s claim begins with a quiet warning: clutter is not neutral. Whether it’s a desk buried under papers, an inbox filled with unread messages, or a phone crowded with apps, every excess carries a maintenance cos...