Simplicity

round table

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
A. Einstein

Moderated by: Zoran Medved
Guests: Samo Bohak, Ana Pečar, Aleš Končan

Simplicity is an art, claims the French writer Dominique Loreau in her book The Art of Simplicity. As already suggested by the title, there is a difference between something being simple and being simplistic, although both may result in the same thing. "It’s a matter of simplifying. Practice removing extraneous ideas [...] until you have only what is needed to express a simple thought." (Leo Babauta).

Simplicity can be seen in the lucidity of the proposed idea, arrived at after pursuing a long and complicated path of learning, focusing, reducing, contemplating the essential and removing the extraneous. It happens in art as well as in science – and needless to say, also in life. Attaining simplicity in life proves to be a real challenge considering the multiple pressures pertaining to capitalism and its excessive consumerism, as it implies resisting to social expectations and everyday social pressures.

Our invited guests will try to find answers to the following questions:
What is the difference between something being simple and being simplistic?
How is simplicity understood and defined in science and how in artistic production?
How to introduce and practice simplicity in daily life?
Can the skill/art of simplicity be transplanted from one sphere of human activity to another?
What are the grounds of this notion and why should it be discussed right now?
In what ways does the philosophy of ‘simplicity’ cut across the capitalist matrix?
What are the society’s strategies to resist it?