Beauty & simplicity

Suwuk Beach, Central Java, Indonesia

I haven't talked about what beauty & simplicity mean to me. Let me explain.

I am in awe of beauty. Beautiful math. Beautiful food. Beautiful creatures, big and small. Beautiful nature. I am nervous around them as I appreciate them. I eat beautiful food quickly as a result. Does beautiful food taste good? From my experience it always does.

Beauty is difficult to quantify, maybe it has to do with symmetry when looking at a geometrical pattern. Or proportion when glancing at a female body. Or elegance for a math equation. But symmetry, proportion, and elegance need further elaboration. So there you go.

But beauty can create or require excess. It can become gaudy, lavish. This excess needs to go.

Simplicity removes the excess. Simplicity for me suggests quality and functionality.

Beauty tends to overwhelm. Simplicity aims to clarify. Beauty shows up willingly in nature, people, things, although we still prefer to pay a lot of money to get it. Simplicity needs work but saves money.

Let me give an example. One of my postings is about whether an all wheel drive car is needed for Canadian winter driving. A beautiful solution would be just that: "symmetrical all wheel drive" motto of one car manufacturer says it all. It is not simple though: the engine drives all four wheels, is heavier, and is more expensive and less fuel efficient. Can it be simplified? I found out yes. Winter tires simplify it.

When beauty and simplicity come together, it is simply beautiful!