Selected Quotations
Scott Kelly
We had a saying in the Navy: ‘Better is the enemy of good enough,’
Dieter Rams
My intention is to omit every unneeded element in order to place the essentials in the foreground. Forms will then become placid, soothingly comprehensible, and long-lasting.
Our electrical appliances should be humble servants, to be seen and heard as little as possible. They should ideally stay in the background, like a valet in the old days, that one hardly noticed
We are economical with form and color, prioritize simple forms, avoid unnecessary complexity, do without ornament. Instead there is order and clarification. We measure every detail against the question of whether it serves function and facilitates handling
Bruno Munari
We have (though not all at once, of course) eaten the missing part mixed up in our soup. It is continual use that has given the spoon its new shape. This is the shape the saucepan has made by constantly rubbing away at the spoon until it eventually shows us what shape a spoon for stirring soup should be.
Diamond Age
“Which path do you intend to take, Nell?” said the Constable, sounding very interested. “Conformity or rebellion?” “Neither one. Both ways are simple-minded- they are only for people who cannot cope with contradiction and ambiguity”.
Hackers pg 159
I had some proscription against having fun. I was not allowed to have fun. The fun was in my work… It was if my way of asserting potency was to be able to build things that worked.
Asterios Polyp
Yes try try. Am I forever to be sabotaged by good intentions?