#simplicity

There was no pomp and ceremony in connection with the birth of Jesus - rather the opposite: it took place in simplicity and in poverty. ↗

— Keith O'Brien

#ceremony #connection #jesus #opposite #place

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. ↗

— Edsger Dijkstra

#reliability #simplicity

The noble simplicity in the works of nature only too often originates in the noble shortsightedness of him who observes it. ↗

— Georg C. Lichtenberg

#nature #noble #observes #often #only

In literature, too, we admire prose in which a small and astutely arranged set of words has been constructed to carry a large consignment of ideas. 'We all have strength enough to bear the misfortunes of others,' writes La Rochefoucauld in an aphorism which transports us with an energy and exactitude comparable to that of Maillard bridge. The Swiss engineer reduces the number of supports just as the French writer compacts into a single line what lesser minds might have taken pages to express. We delight in complexity to which genius has lent an appearance of simplicity. (p 207) ↗

— Alain de Botton

#engineering #literature #simplicity #words #writing

The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity. ↗

— Walt Whitman

#expression #glory #letters #light #simplicity

A slight concussion of the brain simplifies matters so beautifully. ("Three O'Clock") ↗

— Cornell Woolrich

#concussion #simplicity #beauty

Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better. ↗

— Edsger Wybe DIJKSTRA

#elegance #simple #simplicity #virtue #education

A certain simplicity of thought is common to serene souls at both ends of the social scale. ↗

— Joseph Conrad

#simplicity #equality

Already he knew that to overdo a thing is to destroy it. ↗

— Elizabeth Enright

#fragilty #life-lessons #overdoing #simplicity #family

A person with taste is merely one who can recognize the greatest beauty in the simplest things. ↗

— Barbara Taylor Bradford

#simplicity #taste #beauty