Presentation Zen is a blog I've come to really enjoy reading. The latest entry, like all the others, is excellent and talks about the paradox that too much choice can lead to stifled creativity while restrictions and limitations lead to interesting (creative) solutions to problems:
Having grown up in the abundance of the US, I was basically taught that freedom is, among other things, the maximization of choices. The more choices the better. All those choices. All that abundance.157 kinds of breakfast cereal…how to decide? The freedom to choose, at least on things that matter most, is a wonderful gift indeed. Yet, in our daily lives we too often burden ourselves with petty choices, unimportant matters, and frivolous decisions. In today’s world we may have political/social freedom (if we're lucky), but often lack “a freedom of mind,” the very freedom that can matter most when aiming to construct creative solutions to complex problems. Our minds — even our lives in general — have become complicated by clutter.
I especially liked this quote by T. S. Eliot: “When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its utmost – and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl."
Check out Presentation Zen, it's terrific.
*Update April 2, 2007: D'oh! I failed to add a URL link! HERE.
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