You’re in a big bookstore. There are tens of thousands of books. Tables of best sellers, racks of magazines. And around the bend, more books. You’re sure to find one you want, right? But you don’t; nothing turned you on.
A week later you’re in a Florida hotel. You go into the little shop where there’s a motley collection of candy, bug spray, T-shirts and a rack with maybe 10 paperbacks. You happily buy the least bad one and take it to the pool. Turns out to be a fun read. But you’d never have chosen it from the huge collection in the big store back home. Part of the pleasure comes from having less to cram through your decision-making machinery. Once again, architect Mies van der Rohe’s “less is more” advice comes to mind. Or should it be “fewer” is more?
