simplify, simplify
May 13, 2003 10:21 PM Subscribe
"Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry." Thoreau was arguably the start of the Simplicity Movement, a loose, world-wide network dedicated to removing the extraneous from our lives. Difficult to concisely quantify because of its deep vision and many methodologies, the common thread is the reclaiming of our lives from technology, the mainstream, and the economic cycle.
You might also enjoy Juliet Schor's essay, The New Politics of Consumption, which was previously discussed here.
posted by homunculus at 11:08 PM on May 13, 2003
posted by homunculus at 11:08 PM on May 13, 2003
Great post, kaibutsu. Great Thoreau selection, lelilo.
The problem with simplicity is that it's boring and, well, simple. I prefer chaos, uncertainty, complicatedness, artifice, chance, ornament, bullshit, hype, relativity, humanity. And I'd argue that by accepting the world as it is and doing the best I can, making mistakes and mucking in with the rest of my fellow humans, contradicting myself with the best of them, I have embraced simplicity at its most radical.
Thoreau is a great writer but an almighty sourpussy misanthropic, self-loving pompous snob.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:08 PM on May 13, 2003
The problem with simplicity is that it's boring and, well, simple. I prefer chaos, uncertainty, complicatedness, artifice, chance, ornament, bullshit, hype, relativity, humanity. And I'd argue that by accepting the world as it is and doing the best I can, making mistakes and mucking in with the rest of my fellow humans, contradicting myself with the best of them, I have embraced simplicity at its most radical.
Thoreau is a great writer but an almighty sourpussy misanthropic, self-loving pompous snob.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:08 PM on May 13, 2003
The problem with simplicity is that it's boring and, well, simple.
I'd have to say that a home-made-from-scratch apple pie is a hell of a lot more interesting than the Mc Donald's equivalent. Food was really my first introduction to the practice of simplicity, which is kind of counter intuitive, since it entails a lot of cooking rather than popping something in the microwave. But the end result is nourishing more than just my body; there's the satisfaction of having made something good from nothing with your own hands, and creating a food that is truly your own. This is the Simplicity I refer to, and the same basic idea of self-determination runs through all of the Simplicity movement, whether, like Thoreau, your goal is to live a good and self-determined life, or to remove the technological fetters that surround you. Simplicity is anything but simple... It is a movement to inject critical thought into the fabric of our day-to-day lives.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:23 PM on May 13, 2003
I'd have to say that a home-made-from-scratch apple pie is a hell of a lot more interesting than the Mc Donald's equivalent. Food was really my first introduction to the practice of simplicity, which is kind of counter intuitive, since it entails a lot of cooking rather than popping something in the microwave. But the end result is nourishing more than just my body; there's the satisfaction of having made something good from nothing with your own hands, and creating a food that is truly your own. This is the Simplicity I refer to, and the same basic idea of self-determination runs through all of the Simplicity movement, whether, like Thoreau, your goal is to live a good and self-determined life, or to remove the technological fetters that surround you. Simplicity is anything but simple... It is a movement to inject critical thought into the fabric of our day-to-day lives.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:23 PM on May 13, 2003
i wanna read the 20 best things someone other than thoreau said in walden
posted by Satapher at 11:26 PM on May 13, 2003
posted by Satapher at 11:26 PM on May 13, 2003
This is a great post, kaibatsu. Two or three thoughts:
It's funny how every time I heard about Thoreau in High School it wasn't in a Lit class but in History. And all I remember from those lessons was "lived in the woods, avoided taxes, made pencils." Basically, from all I was taught, he was an eccentric freak. It wasn't until a few years after high school that I went back and read his stuff that I actually found out that there was some reasoning and method to his madness.
Migs: I won't speak for the world, but in the States (and I suspect most other Western Cultures) we're inundated on an almost minute basis with the chaos, artifice, ornament, bullshit, and hype. Thoreau lived in a much different time (and a much different U.S.) than we live in now. It's reaffirming to see those that take the opporunity to say, "you know what, I don't care if this is Thom Yorke's favorite restaurant, I'll save my $200 and eat a turkey sandwich at home and be just as happy". We need more people like that in this modern age. It provides good balance.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:31 PM on May 13, 2003
It's funny how every time I heard about Thoreau in High School it wasn't in a Lit class but in History. And all I remember from those lessons was "lived in the woods, avoided taxes, made pencils." Basically, from all I was taught, he was an eccentric freak. It wasn't until a few years after high school that I went back and read his stuff that I actually found out that there was some reasoning and method to his madness.
Migs: I won't speak for the world, but in the States (and I suspect most other Western Cultures) we're inundated on an almost minute basis with the chaos, artifice, ornament, bullshit, and hype. Thoreau lived in a much different time (and a much different U.S.) than we live in now. It's reaffirming to see those that take the opporunity to say, "you know what, I don't care if this is Thom Yorke's favorite restaurant, I'll save my $200 and eat a turkey sandwich at home and be just as happy". We need more people like that in this modern age. It provides good balance.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:31 PM on May 13, 2003
Excellent link.
What I fail to see is how it is technology that is making our lives more stressful.
People seem to take it for granted, but consider how humans lived before technology; I guess freezing and dying from superstition at age 25 was very relaxing and fulfilling.
Or perhaps by 'technology' people mean 'high tech'?
In that case it's only another case of 'I'm afraid of things I don't understand".
If you don't like high tech, go live like the Amish. It's perfectly possible, and I won't have to listen to your technophobic whingeing.
Besides, is anybody except me struck by the irony of using the internet to spread neo-luddism?
posted by spazzm at 2:08 AM on May 14, 2003
What I fail to see is how it is technology that is making our lives more stressful.
People seem to take it for granted, but consider how humans lived before technology; I guess freezing and dying from superstition at age 25 was very relaxing and fulfilling.
Or perhaps by 'technology' people mean 'high tech'?
In that case it's only another case of 'I'm afraid of things I don't understand".
If you don't like high tech, go live like the Amish. It's perfectly possible, and I won't have to listen to your technophobic whingeing.
Besides, is anybody except me struck by the irony of using the internet to spread neo-luddism?
posted by spazzm at 2:08 AM on May 14, 2003
Consider the following excerpts from the fourth link:
"If we're having to think all the time if our mechanical screwdriver or cellphone is charged, where the batteries are for this and where the batteries are for that, it's a very stressful life. If we can just get rid of some of these things, we can get rid of stress."
versus:
"There's something about the fact that I have to cope with this reality of weather and my need for clean clothing and figure out a way to do that that makes life more interesting to me,"
Does anyone else see the inherent contradiction here?
And finally:
"In her book, Fox says that machines and humans are basically incompatible[...]"
Wrong. Machines are to humans what anthills are to ants.
Wether romantic old-timers will admit it or not, we're totally inseparable from technology.
posted by spazzm at 2:28 AM on May 14, 2003
"If we're having to think all the time if our mechanical screwdriver or cellphone is charged, where the batteries are for this and where the batteries are for that, it's a very stressful life. If we can just get rid of some of these things, we can get rid of stress."
versus:
"There's something about the fact that I have to cope with this reality of weather and my need for clean clothing and figure out a way to do that that makes life more interesting to me,"
Does anyone else see the inherent contradiction here?
And finally:
"In her book, Fox says that machines and humans are basically incompatible[...]"
Wrong. Machines are to humans what anthills are to ants.
Wether romantic old-timers will admit it or not, we're totally inseparable from technology.
posted by spazzm at 2:28 AM on May 14, 2003
Simplicity movements seem useful as an antidote or antagonist for competitive consumption, where people are buying crap they don't want to impress people they don't like. Except insofar as it starts becoming luddism, which always struck me as susceptible to an infinite-regress problem.
But I've known people who lived in simplicity-movement ways, steadfastly refusing to get tv's, not having or running a/c, thriftily rinsing out ziploc baggies for re-use, etc. What I ended up seeing was that they weren't freed by this -- they were just as enslaved to the dollar as a stereotypical yuppie, just in the opposite direction. Money is still the great big huge primary object to be worried about day and night, still a great validator of your status or goodness as a person.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:22 AM on May 14, 2003
But I've known people who lived in simplicity-movement ways, steadfastly refusing to get tv's, not having or running a/c, thriftily rinsing out ziploc baggies for re-use, etc. What I ended up seeing was that they weren't freed by this -- they were just as enslaved to the dollar as a stereotypical yuppie, just in the opposite direction. Money is still the great big huge primary object to be worried about day and night, still a great validator of your status or goodness as a person.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:22 AM on May 14, 2003
One of the big problems with this country is that we have a culture of excess, a counterculture of simplicity, and absolutely nobody, nobody crying out for moderation.
posted by PrinceValium at 6:36 AM on May 14, 2003
posted by PrinceValium at 6:36 AM on May 14, 2003
The problem with simplicity is that it's boring and, well, simple. I prefer chaos, uncertainty, complicatedness, artifice, chance, ornament, bullshit, hype, relativity, humanity.
I don't see how this is an either/or choice. Nobody's life is really "simple", no matter how few technological gadgets or pieces of clothing they own. And simplifying one's life isn't boring, nor, paradoxically enough, simple. The voluntary simplicity movement is more about paring away the stuff you don't really want, like, or enjoy in order to have more time and resources to pour into the things you do want. And this process will be different for every person. Maybe it means buying a used car instead of a new one so that you'll have the money to travel. Maybe it means switching to a job with a lower salary but shorter hours so you can spend more time with your kids or on your interests. Maybe it means not buying a latte every morning so you can pay down your VISA or mortgage a little faster. It's just about living mindfully, thinking about the long-term consequences of every decision and the cumulative effects of small, repeated decisions. Simplifying can take a lot of effort and time at first, and as ROU_Xenophobe wrote, it's easy to get carried away and worry just as much about money as you did before. And when you free up time and money it's pretty easy to go waste it on something else that's equally frivolous. I don't have a TV either, but I waste plenty of time reading trashy novels. But certainly even in a "simplified" life there will still be uncertainty, relativity and so on. Take another look, MiguelCardoso. Simplicity is about as boring and bland as a little black dress on a gorgeous woman - the idea is you see the woman, not what she's wearing.
posted by orange swan at 6:46 AM on May 14, 2003
I don't see how this is an either/or choice. Nobody's life is really "simple", no matter how few technological gadgets or pieces of clothing they own. And simplifying one's life isn't boring, nor, paradoxically enough, simple. The voluntary simplicity movement is more about paring away the stuff you don't really want, like, or enjoy in order to have more time and resources to pour into the things you do want. And this process will be different for every person. Maybe it means buying a used car instead of a new one so that you'll have the money to travel. Maybe it means switching to a job with a lower salary but shorter hours so you can spend more time with your kids or on your interests. Maybe it means not buying a latte every morning so you can pay down your VISA or mortgage a little faster. It's just about living mindfully, thinking about the long-term consequences of every decision and the cumulative effects of small, repeated decisions. Simplifying can take a lot of effort and time at first, and as ROU_Xenophobe wrote, it's easy to get carried away and worry just as much about money as you did before. And when you free up time and money it's pretty easy to go waste it on something else that's equally frivolous. I don't have a TV either, but I waste plenty of time reading trashy novels. But certainly even in a "simplified" life there will still be uncertainty, relativity and so on. Take another look, MiguelCardoso. Simplicity is about as boring and bland as a little black dress on a gorgeous woman - the idea is you see the woman, not what she's wearing.
posted by orange swan at 6:46 AM on May 14, 2003
I second orange swan's sentiment. I it's not about smashing machines or even denying technology. It's about denying the religion of computerization, as best described in this essay on modern cargo cults by John Fitzgerald.
posted by abulafia at 7:23 AM on May 14, 2003
posted by abulafia at 7:23 AM on May 14, 2003
While I appreciate the more philosophical points others have brought up, my primary interest in simplicity is still definitely cost-related. If I take the time to watch where my money goes and figure out how to make less of it go there, by either buying cheaper versions or giving things up entirely, I won't have to spend so many hours working to earn money. It's like buying freedom.
posted by JanetLand at 7:29 AM on May 14, 2003
posted by JanetLand at 7:29 AM on May 14, 2003
Wether romantic old-timers will admit it or not, we're totally inseparable from technology.
Technology is a flint shard, or a bone needle. We have elaborated since then, certainly. Sometimes over-elaborated. I prefer a ceramic funnel and paper filters to an espresso machine, for instance. There's less cleaning involved, and I find I can more easily tailor the strength and taste of the coffee for different varieties of bean.
However, I haven't gone so far as to replace the grinder with a pestle and mortar. My relationship with technology is a balancing equation, and there's nothing wrong in redressing the balance from time to time.
Miguel makes a good point and I'm an information junkie too (or should I say experience junkie? It's all the same when you get down to it), but there is also room for a quiet time in my life. Thus I value anything which takes me out of the moment for a while (if only to refresh myself before the next plunge, you understand), which I think is one of the main aims of this movement. In any case, I shall take some time out now to read the linked material. Thanks for the pointers kaibutsu.
Money is still the great big huge primary object to be worried about day and night, still a great validator of your status or goodness as a person.
This statement is so wrong that I can't even begin to address it. You were joking, right? Money is nothing if not a means to an end. You are confusing the cold steel rails with the train station.
posted by walrus at 7:56 AM on May 14, 2003
Technology is a flint shard, or a bone needle. We have elaborated since then, certainly. Sometimes over-elaborated. I prefer a ceramic funnel and paper filters to an espresso machine, for instance. There's less cleaning involved, and I find I can more easily tailor the strength and taste of the coffee for different varieties of bean.
However, I haven't gone so far as to replace the grinder with a pestle and mortar. My relationship with technology is a balancing equation, and there's nothing wrong in redressing the balance from time to time.
Miguel makes a good point and I'm an information junkie too (or should I say experience junkie? It's all the same when you get down to it), but there is also room for a quiet time in my life. Thus I value anything which takes me out of the moment for a while (if only to refresh myself before the next plunge, you understand), which I think is one of the main aims of this movement. In any case, I shall take some time out now to read the linked material. Thanks for the pointers kaibutsu.
Money is still the great big huge primary object to be worried about day and night, still a great validator of your status or goodness as a person.
This statement is so wrong that I can't even begin to address it. You were joking, right? Money is nothing if not a means to an end. You are confusing the cold steel rails with the train station.
posted by walrus at 7:56 AM on May 14, 2003
Here's an illustration of where I think people go way wrong with technology: I was in a men's room here at work a few months ago, and a guy was in a stall, yakking on his cell phone. When he finished the call and hung up he muttered "jeez, you can't have any privacy anymore!" I wanted to speak up and say "so why did you answer the call, then?"
People forget that we should be controlling the technology. Just because cell phones and pagers and email make it possible to "always be connected" doesn't mean you should be, or have to be. I don't think one has to be a total luddite in order to bring some "simplicity" to your life - you just have to take control of your time, maintain a balance in how much information you take in and when.
posted by dnash at 10:06 AM on May 14, 2003
People forget that we should be controlling the technology. Just because cell phones and pagers and email make it possible to "always be connected" doesn't mean you should be, or have to be. I don't think one has to be a total luddite in order to bring some "simplicity" to your life - you just have to take control of your time, maintain a balance in how much information you take in and when.
posted by dnash at 10:06 AM on May 14, 2003
it doesnt matter how many machines or technological advancements you own or use. its all about not having any unhealthy or just plain silly attachments to these objects.
posted by Satapher at 10:40 AM on May 14, 2003
posted by Satapher at 10:40 AM on May 14, 2003
Ummmm..................little black dress......
posted by drstrangelove at 11:36 AM on May 14, 2003
posted by drstrangelove at 11:36 AM on May 14, 2003
Money is still the great big huge primary object to be worried about day and night, still a great validator of your status or goodness as a person.
This statement is so wrong that I can't even begin to address it. You were joking, right? Money is nothing if not a means to an end. You are confusing the cold steel rails with the train station.
I'm not confusing the two, people I've known who lived along (excessively) "simple" lines were confusing them.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:37 AM on May 14, 2003
This statement is so wrong that I can't even begin to address it. You were joking, right? Money is nothing if not a means to an end. You are confusing the cold steel rails with the train station.
I'm not confusing the two, people I've known who lived along (excessively) "simple" lines were confusing them.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:37 AM on May 14, 2003
ROU_Xenophobe, those people you know were likely not worrying about money night and day BECAUSE they embraced the voluntary simplicity movement, but because of issues of their own that they needed to deal with. Lots of people along the entire spending habit spectrum worry quite a lot about money and see it as a validator of their worth. A friend of mine spends freely on dinners out, clothes, three or four vacations a year and things like a Palm Pilot, but worries a lot about money. Understandably, since she's heavily in debt.
Money's just a tool, and it's important to learn to use it wisely or you wind up having to concentrate on the tool rather than on what you really want to accomplish.
posted by orange swan at 12:12 PM on May 14, 2003
Money's just a tool, and it's important to learn to use it wisely or you wind up having to concentrate on the tool rather than on what you really want to accomplish.
posted by orange swan at 12:12 PM on May 14, 2003
*rubs hands together*
Ahh, I love this subject.
Simplicity isn't a knee-jerk reaction to technology, or anything else. It's a process of waking up and figuring out what's really important to you, and jettisoning the rest. That first part may seem easy, but our consumer culture's purpose is to make it hard to figure out what you need v. what you want. There are some great tools for clarifying your own needs in this book (but the whole book isn't necessarily the thing).
A little simplicity can be a tremendous boon. To give just one concrete example: how do you feel when you can't find something you need, like your keys or a book? Me, I get royally pissed off. One of the first benefits of simplifying was reducing the amount of stuff I had so much that not only did I know what I had, I knew where it was. That alone was worth the whole process.
It's ongoing, and it's not boring. I have a lot of fun with deciding what I want to simplify and how best to go about it. And I couldn't do it without technology--online shopping and banking alone have made it easier for me to stay car-free. Online news keeps me away from the television, and email keeps me away from the phone (two things I'm not so fond of).
I guess for me, simplicity is first about reducing my footprint, but also very much about reducing my stress--and it's been hugely successful in that regard.
posted by frykitty at 12:28 PM on May 14, 2003
Ahh, I love this subject.
Simplicity isn't a knee-jerk reaction to technology, or anything else. It's a process of waking up and figuring out what's really important to you, and jettisoning the rest. That first part may seem easy, but our consumer culture's purpose is to make it hard to figure out what you need v. what you want. There are some great tools for clarifying your own needs in this book (but the whole book isn't necessarily the thing).
A little simplicity can be a tremendous boon. To give just one concrete example: how do you feel when you can't find something you need, like your keys or a book? Me, I get royally pissed off. One of the first benefits of simplifying was reducing the amount of stuff I had so much that not only did I know what I had, I knew where it was. That alone was worth the whole process.
It's ongoing, and it's not boring. I have a lot of fun with deciding what I want to simplify and how best to go about it. And I couldn't do it without technology--online shopping and banking alone have made it easier for me to stay car-free. Online news keeps me away from the television, and email keeps me away from the phone (two things I'm not so fond of).
I guess for me, simplicity is first about reducing my footprint, but also very much about reducing my stress--and it's been hugely successful in that regard.
posted by frykitty at 12:28 PM on May 14, 2003
I'm not confusing the two, people I've known who lived along (excessively) "simple" lines were confusing them.
I think I see what you mean. Often, especially when first starting, folks get into a "simpler than thou" phase, where their self-worth is connected to how much money they can save. So it's still their master.
I did this for about two weeks. Cleaning out sandwich baggies just isn't worth it.
posted by frykitty at 12:33 PM on May 14, 2003
I think I see what you mean. Often, especially when first starting, folks get into a "simpler than thou" phase, where their self-worth is connected to how much money they can save. So it's still their master.
I did this for about two weeks. Cleaning out sandwich baggies just isn't worth it.
posted by frykitty at 12:33 PM on May 14, 2003
ROU_Xenophobe, those people you know were likely not worrying about money night and day BECAUSE they embraced the voluntary simplicity movement, but because of issues of their own that they needed to deal with.
I don't disagree. There's "simplicity" as a reaction to competitive spending that isn't even fun.... but there's also "simplicity" that's grounded in plain asceticism, or maybe even in competitive not-having-stuff. The first can be a healthy thing, but there's something not-quite-right about the other 2.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:19 PM on May 14, 2003
I don't disagree. There's "simplicity" as a reaction to competitive spending that isn't even fun.... but there's also "simplicity" that's grounded in plain asceticism, or maybe even in competitive not-having-stuff. The first can be a healthy thing, but there's something not-quite-right about the other 2.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:19 PM on May 14, 2003
Cleaning out sandwich baggies just isn't worth it.
it has nothing to do with objects. only your brainy brain.
posted by Satapher at 1:28 PM on May 14, 2003
it has nothing to do with objects. only your brainy brain.
posted by Satapher at 1:28 PM on May 14, 2003
it has nothing to do with objects. only your brainy brain.
There are many schools of simplicity, as I think ROU_X has hit upon. It depends upon why you are simplifying. Some brands of simplicity do indeed have much to do with objects (or the lack thereof).
To clarify:
posted by frykitty at 1:36 PM on May 14, 2003
There are many schools of simplicity, as I think ROU_X has hit upon. It depends upon why you are simplifying. Some brands of simplicity do indeed have much to do with objects (or the lack thereof).
To clarify:
- Environmental simplifiers are trying to reduce their footprint on the earth. They will wash baggies.
- Financial simplifiers are trying to save money for whatever reason. Baggie washers.
- Mental health simplifiers are trying to reduce the amount of stress in their life caused by stuff and complications. No baggie washing.
posted by frykitty at 1:36 PM on May 14, 2003
Frykitty, I think lots of people who simplify do so out of a mix of motivations. Or they do it for one reason and find there's more to it. I can think of several reasons besides the three you've listed - what about people who simplify for their physical health or quality of life? It's a philosophy with unlimited possible applications and effects. The reason there's a movement is people like the support and the incredible ideas other people come up with.
posted by orange swan at 2:03 PM on May 14, 2003
posted by orange swan at 2:03 PM on May 14, 2003
I can think of several reasons besides the three you've listed
Oh gosh yes, so can I.
The reason there's a movement is people like the support and the incredible ideas other people come up with.
Which reminds me...is anyone here on a good mailing list that is coming up with fresh ideas? I find the info tends to get repetitive after a while.
posted by frykitty at 2:25 PM on May 14, 2003
Oh gosh yes, so can I.
The reason there's a movement is people like the support and the incredible ideas other people come up with.
Which reminds me...is anyone here on a good mailing list that is coming up with fresh ideas? I find the info tends to get repetitive after a while.
posted by frykitty at 2:25 PM on May 14, 2003
Hmm, no, I'm not on any mailing list.
I do however have a book to recommend for anyone who's interested.... The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhr. Luhr also does a newsletter.
posted by orange swan at 3:29 PM on May 14, 2003
I do however have a book to recommend for anyone who's interested.... The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhr. Luhr also does a newsletter.
posted by orange swan at 3:29 PM on May 14, 2003
Since I never check trackback, I figure it is worth pointing out that our own jd roth is leading a very good discussion at his site, centered on simplicity and the matrix.
posted by kaibutsu at 7:38 PM on May 14, 2003
posted by kaibutsu at 7:38 PM on May 14, 2003
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