The Simple Life
Most of my friends are dead.
Don't panic. I'm not making you an accessory to a crime. I'm talking about philosophers.
I learn so much from philosophers. I would love to have gone for dinner with a few of them, but I'm hundreds, if not thousands of years late.
Despite never taking me out for dinner, I'd like to tell you about Billy.
Actually, he preferred to go by "William of Ockham".
A bit of a narcissist, to be fair.
But he came up with something really useful, and clearly had impeccable taste in robes, so I'll let it slide.
"Occam's razor" is a principle in philosophy that basically means "the simplest explanation is often the correct one."
Back in the 14th century, Billy wrote in Latin to make himself sound more impressive:
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
For those of you who didn't have a particularly rough time at high school, it means:
More things should not be used than are necessary.
Nailed it, Billy.
This way of thinking has stuck with me for a long time. It seeps into a lot of my decision making, and into life in general.
2024 has been my best year of simplification.
When I talk to people about how I live, how I work, and how I approach most things right now, it tends to surprise them.
I live simply: I have one mug. I don't own many things – no more than can fit in one rucksack. If I don't like the city I am in, I move to a new one. That's happened 5 times so far this year.
I work simply: I write code in vim without AI, and notes in text files. I don't use post-its, task systems, or have a todo list. I work on the next most important thing and repeat.
This degree of simplicity is hard to maintain.
Simplicity is not the default.
It's the result of the hard work of repeatedly taking things away until you have only the essence of what really matters.
I remind myself how beautiful it is to sit with a coffee and watch life happen through the window.
I am deeply grateful for health, time and good people.
While Occam's razor is often talked about in terms of assessing two paths or explanations and choosing the simplest one, I think it maps onto life in general.
The best things in life are simple. Take the simple paths. Enjoy the simple life. It's most likely the correct path.
Unless Billy is wrong. And if he is, I'll kill him.