Minimalism is killing us: Re-awaken your senses, bring back joy | Ingrid Fetell Lee | Big Think
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ต.ค. 2024
- Minimalism is killing us: Re-awaken your senses, bring back joy
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The feeling of joy has become associated with immaturity, resulting in a culture of drabness.
Minimalism is now the dominant aesthetic of nearly every artistic medium.
There is an antidote to the deadening of our senses brought on by cultural minimalism.
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INGRID FETELL LEE:
Ingrid Fetell Lee is a former Design Director at global innovation firm IDEO and founder of the blog The Aesthetics of Joy, a leading resource in the field of emotional design.
With over a decade of experience in design and branding, she holds an MA in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and a BA in English and Creative Writing from Princeton University.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Ingrid Fetell Lee: I think one of the reasons we don't feel joy as much as we might like is because we have a culture in which joy is judged often as frivolous, as childish, as superficial. And its interesting to think about where this actually comes from. It has pretty deep roots in our culture.
So if you look in 1810 Goethe wrote in his Theory of Color that savage nations, uneducated people, and children typically prefer bright colors whereas people of refinement avoid color in their dress and try to banish color from the objects about them. And what happens in this equation is that were seeing the equivalency between savage nations, so uncivilized people, primitiveness, a lack of sophistication or education and children. And those are being equated to the sort of aesthetics, the tangible manifestations of joy in our culture. And when you look at the roots of this a lot of it stems from colonialism. So you had a bunch of Europeans getting on boats going around the world trying to conquer other peoples and when they found these sort of uninhibited displays of emotion, when they found festivals and dancing and drumming and colorful dwellings and outfits they felt a need to distance themselves from those behaviors.
And so what happened was European culture became more and more emotionally repressed as a result. So we had to get rid of the color in our surroundings because that was uncivilized. We had to get rid of our sort of exuberant and playful displays. And you actually see this when in certain colonies when settlers would arrive they would bring their pretty raucous festivalsI mean Carnival originated in Europe and it was a pretty raucous festival there. They would bring it to these colonies like In Trinidad and Tobago, for example. And then once they got there they realized the had to stop visibly celebrating and they started having formal balls instead of, you know, wild celebrations, because that made the seem too close to the natives. And so joy became repressed within our culture, and in its place we got this sense of seriousness that this is what is valued. And that became reflected in our aesthetic culture as well.
Over the past few years the dominant aesthetic has been an aesthetic of minimalism. And we've been encouraged to sort of simplify and strip back our possessions in our homes and sort of get to very simple gray, beige interiors.
And in a way this has been described as sort of reaction to all of the overstimulation thats going on in our devices, that it sort of helps us relax. But, in fact, what we find is that minimalist interiors actually can be very stressful. That when you look at our sort of natural love of abundance and lushness and textures and sensation, when you actually deprive us of sensations we go a little bit crazy. And a study I love that sort of explores this had a bunch of people sitting in a room, and all they had to entertain themselves was a machine that gave electric shocks. And after only a few minutes of sitting alone in a bare, unadorned room they started giving themselves quite painful electric shocks rather than sit without any stimulation. So the brain seeks and craves stimulation.
And when it doesn't have that it will sort of seek it out even in ways that maybe aren't so adaptive.
A real world example where you can see this craving for abundance sort of overwhelming the modernist desire for minimalism happened in the planned city of Brasilia. So the city was planned out, it was designed as a truly modern city with sort of uniform blocks of buildings that all looked alike and were very simple and modern and orderly in their design. And what happened as people began to move...
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She's not saying that you should buy lots of things to bring yourself joy - she means to have things of great value to yourself, colors, beauty to bring you joy in your life. This fits with minimalism, and I don't understand how the title is 'minimalism is killing us'
We get this. But the video becomes a shill for Consumerism because of the way that she talks about it. She's an idiot stooge because of the what she says is structured. The core idea, live with vibrance, is not wrong. But it's not at war with minimalism. Minimalism is at war with consumerism. She ignores this and when she jumps into her "study" it's really just a metaphor for, if you don't into consumerism and Minimalist be instead then it's like shocking yourself with an electrode.
The problem isn't the deeper idea about vibrance, Minimalists get that, we live vibrantly, it's the idiot lady and her subtextural message promoting Consumerist attitudes.
None of her stated remedies involved buying lots of stuff. She clearly wasn't pushing consumerism, it was all about engaging the senses. Have sloping floors, coloured walls and textured surfaces. Even the example apartment she showed was minimalist, not filled with gadgets and useless crap, but with interesting surfaces and shapes.
I think if the title were something like "engage your senses to experience joy" but everything else stayed the same, far fewer people would have hit the thumbs down
Yes it should maybe be ‘sterility is killing us’
@cute_lil_critter Too bad that she is saying to buy more, at the 2:45 mark she talks down at the idea of buying less. She's a consumerist through and through. BUY MORE! SPEND MORE! CONSERVATION IS HOSTILITY! JOY IS MARKET VALUE! CONSUME!
SEO
All the top comments are about how they disagree because the simplicity of minimalism is actually making their lives better. But she's not talking about it in terms of possessions. She's talking about our artistic taste. Paint your walls a vivid color rather than grey. It's like no one even watched the video to see what she meant.
You may also be able to think about it like this: would you rather have that simplistic abstract modern art (like a painted square in a square), or something like Dali's work? Would you rather have those plain white and glassy apartments, or something more elaborate like victorian architecture?
I immediately saw it this way, so I agree with her.
No one else is. So if that' the point they're trying to make, then changing the title or the argument is what is really needed. Click bait titles on a channel like this clearly aren't what subs want.
She made the point that people who sat in a room with nothing to do but shock themselves started doing so. Just to do something.
This is an argument for minimalism actually. I took from this that sometimes we get too attatched to having stuff and doing things.
So taking a step back and getting rid of some of your stuff and relaxing a bit about all of the sense stimulation can really help reduce stress and the need to do something all the time
Accented walls are a common theme in minimalistic rooms...
the philosophy is no limited to possessions. Its also an appreciation of beauty and aesthetics
It's the title that is misleading. It should mention "Sensory minimalism" or "Aesthetic Minimalism" as she pointed out.
I feel like minimalism nowadays may be more of a reaction to over stimulation, especially from ubiquitous multimedia.
2:56 Spoke too soon 😭
This is a poorly thought out thesis. Minimalism or even having some restraint is not killing us. It is not minimalism that is killing us. It is our thinking that we need lots of possessions and be constantly active that is killing us. It is true that a study showed that bored people in an experiment would shock themselves. It doesn’t: seem to have occurred to Lee that maybe these subjects just hadn’t learned how to sit calmly and peacefully. Lee doesn’t mention meditators sitting for hours in peace. So while Blaise Pascal said: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly alone in a room”, that only means most people haven’t learned sit quietly.
Beautiful point. Minimalism is not asceticism, although people might confuse the two. Minimalism uses, but is not used by, possessions. In fact, a true minimalist gets rid of, not necessarily possessions, but mind-states that lead to suffering, such as anger, greed, etc. You could be rich and still be a minimalist, and you could be poor and be a hedonist. It's more about the internal consciousness as opposed to the outer "things" we own.
Furthermore, asceticism is masochistic, in that it tortures the body by withdrawing resources from it, such as less food, less clothes, etc. Minimalism is not about torturing yourself, but rather, questioning whether you need 50 shirts when you only ever wear 3 of them. It questions excess, and it's for the middle path, just like Buddhism talks about.
I love talking about this stuff, and you made good points about people not being able to sit quietly. If someone has never meditated, it's almost impossible to sit still. All that shows is that they'd very likely benefit from learning that ... it doesn't show that minimalism is flawed.
+Nico Chavez
What exactly do you mean when you say you don't believe in any of the eastern philosophies? Because we might not be disagreeing, depending on your definition.
In my experience, just like excessive materials can distract us from being truly contented, excessive negative emotions can distract us from being calm and peaceful. Thus, that is why I said a true minimalist gets rid of states like anger and greed. Does that make sense?
It's useful to differentiate between minimizing possessions and minimizing decorations. I like to think I can minimize the objects in my life without creating a band, withering environment. Right now I'm trying to reduce the amount of stuff on my shelves, but my walls are covered in art.
same
My shelves are covered in art. But I have indeed reduced possessions. It is not about overstimulation for me though, it is about clutter.
I hadn't thought about it in those terms but that makes perfect sense to me. Thank you for this!
Same my walls is covered with a lot of arts ❤️
100% i made this realization early on in my minimalism journey. that there's a difference between lifestyle minimalism and aesthetic minimalism. my walls will also always be covered in art but everything has a place and there's no superfluous "junk" for me
You can be a minimalist and still utilize color and texture in clothing and decor. Minimalism does not equal spartan, colorless furnishings. Minimalism means you keep what you love and use and reduce the things you don't love or use.
Yeah she's conflating minimalism with modernism
If you could point me to some youtubers who do utilise colour, I would appreciate it. 'cause all the video's I have seen as of late are people basically using black, grey, white. I have yet to find a minimalist youtuber showing of their coloured wadrobe/decor.
@@msgeorgejourney You want someone to link you a "Minimalist TH-camr"? Jesus Christ, go outside.
@@Philitron128 But isn't minimalist about decluttering inside? I am finding minimalism very interesting, but reading the comment section I feel I might have been misinformed.
@@msgeorgejourney That's literally all it is. Getting rid of anything you don't need, and also refraining from buying any more bullshit. It's that simple. It has nothing to do with color and texture.
Too many of us are broke, have no deeper meaning, or deeply in debt. That's why too many of us have no joy.
I would love to see your budget. Let's look at how many times a week you go out to dinner, that new car you decided to lease, the $1K+ Iphone you decided to upgrade to. Along with the $130+ a month unlimited data plan with Verizon. Didn't want to go to an in state school? Oh no, that out of state private college that pumps out tenuous liberal arts degrees is totally worth the loan.
Most of the little shit heads that complain about being broke take no fiscal responsibility.
*yawn*
@@edwardmeisse4361 honestly, I have a wife and five kids so my schedule is pretty full for the time being.
@ForrestSCS You've got it ass backwards. It's the corporations that have taken our money to establish a kind of welfare for themselves via deregulation, systematically scooping into our investments and due wage increases to pay their top executives. You're correct on the military spending though which is why it's helpful to mentally separate the bloated military industrial complex from infrastructure when thinking of government spending. But if anything, the government is being underused as a regulatory entity under our control probably due to saps like you falling for corporate talking points that make our own governing process that we still have a surprising amount of control over out to be a bogeyman.
@@davidtanaka5357 dude I'm living on VA disability, have a used car, and a 2 year old hewai phone. We just decided to get rid of DirecTV but other than that, we have no crazy costs.
@@edwardmeisse4361 understood
You're not wrong but we live in a society where the opposite of minimalism means consuming as much as possible, even if it means accumulating debt in the process. We have no understanding of how to find happiness in anything other than material goods.
Why do White men relish the thought of being sad, angry, and depressed? Didn't your family plunder the earth and give it to you? Isn't every law based on your desires and wants?
Try listening to Terrence McKenna?
Dont listen so much to his drug use lectures , but his talks about alchemy, past lives, religions. He dots more dots together, like no other person I've heard!(maybe i need to get out More??)
@@EHCBunny4real why do women always open their Mouth?
Do they like things being stuffed in it?
WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY
This video isn't about the modern philosophy of Minimalism, but of the Design Aesthetic that is far older.
Did you even watch this video?
Minimalism ain't killing me... It's making me free and I feel like I'm living more actually. Minimalism doesn't mean depriving yourself of the things you want and it certainly doesn't mean... changing your wardrobe and furniture 'for the sake of minimalism's aesthetics' - if that's your ONLY reason, I suggest... don't even start. Frankly, this whole concept shall teach an individual not to be greedy and practice sustainable living economically.
Sshh shut up and go back to buying meaningless, useless shit, the new iPhone is out, go buy it. Prada just came out with some new fancy boots for fall, go buy them. Go buy the latest Chevrolet, your car is too old, your headphones are dated you need the latest from Beats audio, shut up and make the 1% wealthier... You know because buying useless, meaningless shit is all we're good for
This video IS NOT about the modern philosophy of Minimalism, but the Design Aesthetic that is far older.
Did you even watch the video?
Yup. I have plenty of joy and simulation in my home with less.
If you call this minimalism...why is it about MAXIMIZING your enjoyment, MAXIMIZING your happiness, MAXIMIZING your moods, desires, & fantasies-in a sense, maximizing your passively rebellious lifestyle of capitalist self-indulgence that, frankly, only exists in the demimonde of bourgeois, privileged, happy-go-lucky & permanent-vacation neo-hippies & their twatty saturated pics?
Minimalists want to fight the feeling that owning & accumulating stuff defines who they are-but my point, my perspective is that, instead, we could have a humble, healthy, & down-to-earth attitude that what we own defines who we are only inasmuch as it defines what we can do.
Call it instrumentalism. Because minimalism, if we're honest, is simply consumerism with a different price tag & shoppable (twat) aesthetic.
This not only makes it dumb & delusional, but also dangerous.
@@funkymunky,
Bruh. I just handmake or carefully choose my shit. It's not as hard as you're making it out to be.
"Quality vs quantity" if you want to dumb it down. Chill mang.
I went to see an art exhibit in Santa Fe New Mexico last month that featured modern fashions made by indigenous people. The thing that struck me most was how bright and colorful nearly all of the designs were. It was beautiful to me to see so much joy put into the clothing and designs. Why don't we dress like this anymore? It feels like all the life has been sucked out of modern life. It's literally killing us. Killing our souls, at the least.
I love minimalism.
It provides me with an open canvas in my home to fill with my own skill and projects... I happily call myself a DIY minimalist.
Got a blank wall? Go out and paint it myself.
Let me paint a picture, frame it and put on there as well... not sit and shock myself...
Minimalism, in my home decor, allows me to truly think and know what my room needs. If my needs change and add something else or something less... the best part is that I usually make my own things myself. Saving money, wasting less, gaining experiences and feeling pride in what little I do have. Yes, I won't have as much as the next guy/gal who goes out and easily buys all of their things.
But, my home is a true reflection of who I am... a work in progress...
There needs to be a balance, certainly. The Ancient Greeks said it best, with 'Nothing to excess,' and 'Worship the mean.'
There is a big difference between being poor and being a minimalist. Getting rid of things that I don’t use on a regular basis has been a game changer. Most people fall victim to marketing and the constant messaging of more.
I thought that the study she referenced, regarding how a person would sooner give themselves a painful shock in a dull room than just sit still in a dull room, was less about our desire for the aesthetic and more about our inability to sit alone with ourselves, in a room, with our own thoughts. When I first heard of that study, I took it as a message to learn to be with ourselves, to look within, to observe our own thoughts and not be so dependent on external stimuli to distract us from ourselves. She seemed to interpret it as a message to find more colourful, less harmful distractions.
Minimizing saved my sanity. Every object has a vibration and my mild hoarding harshed my vibe and stressed me out. Now that my clutter is gone I make room for more abundance of what really matters in my life.
On the flip side you can train your brain to not require constant stimulation to feel joy. She is also defining minimalism as a one dimensional - white or off white/grey walls, rather than a more cohesive definition where you reduce the unnecessary possessions you have that do not give you joy or serve a purpose. We are talking about two separate things, a minimalist aesthetic vs functional minimalism.
Some people find minimalist interiors stressful but others find them peaceful and relaxing. Different people like different things.
Minimalism is the one of the best philosophy that I have followed. Its fundamental truths have been preached by the best philosophers around the world. Extreme consumerism is extremely ugly. The best example is black friday shopping spree.
A pretty big stretch here. And if we are talking about materialistic minimalism, it is what will save us.
The title is slightly misleading. She is speaking more to minimalist design than the lifestyle itself.
The problem is not to do with anything occurring externally. It is internal events that have occurred over time that have caused the repression you point to. There is so much beauty in the world that has always existed and will forever exist in various many different forms both seen and unseen. When one has become aware of the inner joy within that is ever present, by cultivating the art of unconditional acceptance of people and things as they are, they are better for it. More often than not, the beauty that we see is a reflection of this ever present joy within.
You can be a minimalist and still be a colorful joyful individual;
Minimalism has helped me reduce a ton of stress and junk and has made me trade quantity for quality in life and hasn't hindered me from enjoying say Thor Ragnarok one bit :)
Also just not true, Europe is plenty full of color and vibrance and always has been.
Finally someone said it! there has always been a backlash to minimalism. I think buildings need to express the culture of a society. Say no to the internationalists!
Her definition of minimalism is quite different than many of us who have a minimalist direction in our lives.
I feel this has more to do with the aesthetic of minimalism vs. minimalism as a whole. As an artist and designer, my world is full of color and I keep it that way, but that is just what brings me joy.
Interesting concept, I do love colour but I sincerely believe minimalism is extremely calming and much less stressful.
Alia Macintyre no problem! There is nothing in minimalism that asks you to give up colour. My (minimalist) house is filled with life and colour. This chick is just bananas
Being a minimalist in this crazy world is the best thing for you. Since I started being happy with what I had, not constantly reaching for the next thing, my life has been good. Greed is toxic, how could a video encouraging it be on Big Think. Reprehensible. Minimalism is the way to go morally and for your own happiness.
When people are lacking spiritually they feel the need surround themselves with 'stuff'. Minimalisation is about removing the stuff that distracts you from connecting with your inner peace. It's not about lack of enjoyment, it's about not needing stuff that is unnecessary which for a lot of people actually does become part of their constant environmental noise and is quite stressful. You can still paint your walls have pictures, a fluffy cushion or 2, a nice rug and a shelf full of books but if these begin to gather dust you clearly have too much stuff.
I agree with the thought behind this but certainly not the title (click-bait at best). Nature loves variety, we as humans love variety. But we're also geared towards efficiency, we want an efficient way to think, design, dress, commute and live but all that might end up making us a little lazy.
The truth is there's not a one-size-fits-all answer, what really makes us human is our ability to think critically and ask why, and not just do what others say. If minimalism works for you embrace that, but as soon as it doesn't work anymore, feel free to adapt. On the other hand, a highly stimulated environment has its perks, it shouldn't become a prison though.
Interesting, but I think the problem has a lot to do with TIME. We minimalize time and timing. We jam things in, so the feeling do not have enough time to develop and spread. I think humor and SILLY actions are ways to help to bring back joy. Thanks
Dear Ingrid, Have you not seen an IKEA advert? You say, 'we’ve been encouraged to sort of simplify and strip back our possessions in our homes and sort of get to very simple gray, beige interiors.' Have you not been watching tv? Or shopping on Amazon?
Ikea is mostly about minimalism, what are you saying?
I noticed she used the word craving a few times,this addiction or attachment to the external that is so prevalent.For me,to be mindful of the interior world is true contentment
Thankyou for this video. As an artist struggling with creating color work vs. minimal work, I can appreciate these thought provoking ideas.
the reason i try to live minimally is so that i can spend more time and effort on the things which bring me true joy. she seems to miss the entire point of living a more minimalist lifestyle.
I think this is a good video, it is just mis titled. I think the point is to avoid sterile environments. The end example is that of an apartment with varying colours and shapes and different stimulus - but at the same time it looks minimal as there are little possessions. So i think it is not against minimalism but sterility.
If you look at the Philippine Jeepneys for example, the reason most people seem to over ornament these vehicles is their lack of capacity to improve/optimize the vehicle's efficiency. Therefore ornamentation and putting saturated graphic colors is their way to compensate for its lack of sophistication and subconsiously think that ornamentation elevates its perceived value. Sounds familiar? I think it's the reason why most weapons and structures of the past were highly ornate. They've reached peak efficiency in terms of technology and ornamentation is their way to add sophistication.
thanks for this gentle way to say that we are becoming too straight, conservative and afraid to dare. Color, texture, forms are life!
Lets may the Dali's spitit free again
I think Ingrid refers to Minimalism from a perspective that confuses most people here, including myself. I am minimalistic from an economic standpoint and in a way against my will.
I've decided to avoid as much as possible buying stuff that I don't need and invest the surplus so that, in a world drowning in debt, I can still be free and not live a life of servitude. Just try being without a job, while running on negative cash flow and a mortgage to pay, and you'll know what I am talking about. That is way more depressing than being a minimalist.
And that does not necessarily mean that my home is gray and dull. With a toddler here, things can get pretty much joyful and colorful. And, on top of that. My family enjoys being outside and enjoying nature. I don't find it depressing at all.
Wow, I really did not know that so many people feel so strongly about things like “minimalism”.
A nice, new, colorful, paintjob, can actually do a lot for people's psychological well being.
minimalism as a concept ia often misinterpreted and misunderstood. it looks different for everyone and there's not ONE way to do it. certainly some people take it to the extreme but everyone can do it the way they want. for me clutter is stressful, all mismatched colours, textures, shapes become obnoxious. i also like the idea of creating an oasis of peace in your home, whatever that may look like for you. for me, it's about creating harmony with colours and textures, in my home and also my wardrobe. and minimalism doesn't say you can't have things that make you happy, give you joy, even if they are completely useless otherwise. it's about getting rid of the clutter, the thing you don't use, don't mean anything to you, you even forget they exist but they are in front of you, taking up space from something you could find joy in.
I prefer neutral colors (black, white, grey, natural wood tones) because they are easy on the eyes. Your home dwellings should be a place for rest, and should feel calm, so I think bright colors interrupt a sense of tranquility. Of course an accent of color isn’t bad, just a touch is enough to appreciate it.
I feel that is a difference between minimalism and minimalist interiors....I think that the title of the video got it wrong
Minimalism is removing the attachment to material things. It's freedom from the control of material objects and the corporations that produce them.
For anyone who has ever seen the Meow Wolf exhibit in Santa Fe New Mexico, the reason children and adults alike enjoy how fun it is makes total sense when you consider that the brain naturally seeks stimulation and excess, not minimalism.
Have you no imagination woman?! I dont need to have an apartment looking like a fruit salad to have colorful experiences there.
Hahahaha! Right?! But also, those rooms have bare walls and nothing on the shelves. Thats even more minimalist than my minimalist house! And I have ass-tons of colour and life in my house. It just isn’t in the form of ugly dust-collecting nicknacks. Wtf is wrong with this chick
those apartments with all primary colors and floors with bumps is *insane* . you have to hold on for dear life to move around, lol?? good luck getting out alive in the event of *FIRE* .
Cracked me up!
Jonathan Fatu yes, but she’s the one who decided her thesis. She’s the one claiming that the things she’s pushing back against are “minimalist”. Really, she’s saying that beige box houses are draining our passion... and she might be right.
But she is saying that is “minimalism”. It isn’t. Minimalism is not painting everything beige and depriving yourself of joyful surroundings. Minimalism is letting go physically (and mentally, etc) of anything that is in excess of what you require. That leaves room for a lot of colour and shape and joy.
I think that a lot of people who have watched this and commented negatively (including me) believe that she unnecessarily attacked minimalism... for clickbait? To cling to a trendy topic? Because she’s uninformed?
She might have had a point, but she lost many of us from the ignorant onset.
Divine Linker why do you have to point out she's a woman?
I believe that minimalism has a certain purpose in my life with this consumer economy where people consume and consume they forget happiness with minimalism it reminds me not to consume to a void and to live a simplistic life and to not live with materials but with experiences and people
Sorry, but I'm from Brasília and I personally like the aspect of the city. In my opinion the main reason about others neighborhood is the overpopulation of the city, something that wasnt predicted .
This is very very interesting. Thank you for doing this video.
I agree with the conclusion but not the premise. Minimalism doesn't mean dull - it's stripping away the cruft and leaving what's meaningful. It can be beautiful and it can be dull. Like anything it comes down to the skill of the designer.
I feel like this ends up being more about anti mental-minimalism, changing our perceptions to see the world itself stimulating and us becoming more sensitive to every bump... it isnt literally about a lack of material things
This really doesn't sound like an argument against minimalism itself, but for materialists that can't handle emotionally pursuing that lifestyle. Minimalism is great in just about every facet.
If minimalism makes me seem less civilized or something, then so be it. I wouldn't say civility is overrated, but I'm not going out of my way to seem more civilized than I am.
You'll notice the original Star Trek series had a spaceship interior that was brightly colored. Later Star Trek series had an interior that was all beige and grey. Their uniforms became less colorful with more and more black and grey. The only science fiction film I have seen with intense colors is The Fifth Element. All the other films have worlds where everything is grey. I think it would be very depressing to live in an environment where everything was grey.
Those colourful trippy houses were amazing thoughh
She is beautiful and smart
I would love to see her backing these claims up...
If you think "minimalism" is killing us, you're not praticing "minimalism",
you're simply self-deprivating from things you REALLY NEED.
Respectfully speaking, of course, improve your research and come back later.
You're disrespectful for commenting without watching the video.
How's that for BASIC fucking research?
@@JarrettOriginal she fucking literally talked about colonists not following old traditions and people shocking themselves for simulation...
... and also home decor...
What's the fucking point then?
JarrettOriginal I watched the whole video and think her thesis was either way off the mark or poorly supported. Either way, this is an arguably horrible big think video that many of us think is evidence that this woman needs to check herself. You must be her kid or something.
why is this lady on big think? she obviously hasnt been out of her element,i did three years in jail,a place where minimalism is extreme,i meditated everyday sometimes multiple times,i found so much happiness and brought that back into my outside life and im still happy and pretty broke fiancally.how about nature full of colors,i repeat go outside and look at mother nature.if your looking for happiness in a house or room or clothes you obviously are empty inside and with her small minded lala land view it shows what this lady is about......nothing
Matt AGs Koch brothers now donate to (bought) BigThink
@@johnd5790 oh shit...
Now some of these idiotic videos makes sense... thanks!
I think all those that disliked this video didn't actually pay attention to what she's saying. It doesn't have anything to do with minimalism/materialism
This isn't a critique of contemporary minimalism as a lifestyle, it's a critique of aesthetics.
CONSUME! BUY MORE! CONSUME MORE!
What a bright young lady. Trying to kill the planet by not "depriving" your sensations IS killing us, not the other way around. Minimalism does not equal uninspiring or non-stimulating. Its like shes trying to sound silly
I believe this confuses minimalism, which nurtures filling your life with what truly is needed and what brings you true joy, with color theory. From what I’ve seen not every minimalist chooses stark, monotone surroundings. Don’t need to buy into stereotypes.
To me, minimalism means not having to work 40- 60hrs a week or 6-7 days a week to be happy. When i tell ppl i wanna wrk less they look at me like im crazy.
You can just as well awaken your senses by appreciating sleek and thoughtful design.
Having a few things of quality is what its about...
Never heard the other side of the coin before... Thank you!
'I think the 'minimalism' you're referring to is concerned more with the amount of colors and objects. Its a matter of perception what minimalism is to everyone. If you were to live in the old streets of Lahore, Dehli or Rawalpindi, not only would you see many colors and kiosks, but also a lot of electricity cables hanging mixed up and hanged all around above heads, almost no space to walk on bcz all pavements occupied by kiosks and hardly any traffic flow, with women delivering babies in ambulances. Diversity and colors are good, but the conditions of many places actually are such that only minimalist practices can unclog spaces. Things can be managed better.'
I don't see a connection between minimalism and lack of color. I can own only what i need to live a joyful life and still have vibrant colors around me.
This woman is brilliant. Minimalism in fine as a sort of mindset. Don’t over consume, don’t hoard. Do you really need four of the same item? Bring things into your life with intention. But I think it’s okay if the intention is beauty, and joy, and frivolous adornment! I love physical objects. I love surrounding myself with useless things that are beautiful. I used to be ashamed of that. My living space used to be all beige. My walls bare. I think we do that to numb ourselves sometimes. But after a while of being numb, I started craving life again! Be a minimalist if you choose. But if you want your life to beautiful, and colorful, and full of light, let it be. Don’t feel ashamed that it’s in our nature to create beauty.
You dont have to have everything in black & white to be a minimalist. I'm a coulorful minimalist. I didn't necessarily take on the "minimalist style" but a "minimalist lifestyle" I have a chronic pain condition and chronic fatigue. My home is very colourful I just have less possessions that I didn't use or need. I was in extreme pain daily and struggle with keeping up with the mess and cleaning.
Before you comment that minimalism is awesome and she is worng, watch the entire video. Minimalism in culture refers to over-simplification of things, not a non cosummist way of living.
Minimalism doesn't mean getting rid of colors. It means to get rid of the useless ones in order to better appreciate the few that actually do bring us joy.
minimalism save monies, but aestheticism doesnt need minimalist
This is the worst Big Think videos in a long time. Buying useless objects and putting yourself in debt is far more stressful than being minimal.
Being minimalist is not about bored. It's about cutting back on the things you don't need to be happy.
You are utterly unable to ger her point
I get her point, but her point has nothing to do with minimalism. Decorate your house in bright colors. Big Think worded the title wrong. Also her proof is mostly speculation.
A somewhat misleading title & skewed commentary. People Choose minimalism for a smaller footprint. "Live simply that others may simply live." It has naught to do w/ colors. Has she listened to Joshua & Ryan, even? This BigThink was a stretch...
title is a little misleading … I don't think she's criticizing the common form of minimalism (amount of possessions; complicated lifestyle), but the minimalism of natural sensory inputs (colors, sounds, movements, etc.) …. the two are not the same.
Buddhism isn’t from the West and that’s pretty minimalist. At least the way the monks and nuns live is usually minimal. When I think of a simplified, minimal life, I do not think of the West! I think of the overconsumption of resources. If you put someone who practiced meditation in that blank white room, I reckon they would be quite content.
I think the problem here isn’t her message (she has a point about keeping joy in life), its her choice of words. “Grey rooms” are not minimalist; they’re bland. Theres a difference. You can have a minimalist space that is bright and exciting in decor. She is challenging the wrong thing and doesnt seem to understand what minimalism actually is.
You can never have too much joy. Happiness is a choice.
Ever done heroin? That is powdered joy and you can definitely have too much lol
She isn't talking about personal minimalism where you choose to only have what's meaningful to you, she's talking about cultural minimalism where having nothing that you value or nothing that makes you happy has become the norm. It isn't about picking one beautiful table that you like and not cluttering it, it's about picking the simplest plainest table you can find in such a way that it only will look good when covered in magazines and other things. Her identical housing blocks story was like this, the place they moved to was so plain and boring that they wanted to bring more in because there was no meaning in blank boxes. You could almost say we need to reject where capitalism's worst has met global Marxism.
When the brain is deprived of input or stimulation, it creates it. However nowadays people are more likely to reach for their phones, they have replaced a rich inner world and even observation and enjoyment of their surrounds with shallow external experience. The "dull grey boxes" people reside in are within their heads.
My lounge room and living areas are quite "busy", they certainly not devoid of colour.
My bedroom is completely minimalist. A bed. When I go to bed it is time to "change worlds" and sleep, it's not a place for external stimulation and certainly not a room that looks like skittles vomit.
When there is no balance between the internal and external worlds there's disharmony and imbalance. Meditate, read, get to know yourself.
Nothing wrong with minimalism, just don't take it to the extreme (i.e. sit in an empty room all day).
Instead, have several possessions that are meaningful and symbolic.
Not all of us are meditators and it isn't fair to expect everyone to meditate, just like how it's not fair to expect everyone to be vegans even though it is healthier.
People just need to learn how to recognise and avoid cluttering and overspending.
I don't think the fact that our brains crave stimulation necessarily proves that its good for us. We may crave stimulation to distract us from the thoughts we'd have to confront if we we're alone in our own heads
Bollocks. People like minimalism because it's objectively tidier, more elegant and sustainable and way more pragmatic. It also can be perfectly combined with bright colours, plants, flowers, art, etc. I haven't read any study about it but I bet minimalist people are actually happier than average people.
Holy crap, I would go insane in those crayon-colored rooms. Having a serene calm base environment doesn't mean your sensory experiences are doomed to be devoid of color and flavor etc. Just means you don't want to live in a box of crayons.
Visual clutter is very stressful for me.
Scandinavia, the Mekka of minimalism and muted colors, had which colonies exactly? Eastern Europe, hardly known for their colorfull exuberance, had to set themselves apart from which natives exactly? The use of muted colors in European fashion started only in the Early 19th Century with the Regency Period, 300 years after the start of colonialsim. The late 19th century, the hight of colonialism, co-incided with a fashion of very colorfull interior decoration indeed. Minimalism in Europe started with the Wiener Sezession and Bauhaus, two movements entirely unrelated to a reaction to any "natives" in colonies.
Minimalism does not mean owning few things, which is what most people in the comment section think it is.
wow .....
that was eye opening
Minimalism is not equivalent to repression. Minimalism is I think is to include joy into your life but only so much which you can actually feel. Whats the point of 1000 colors on your home walls if you dont feel joy. But having a blue colored mug that you actually use might bring you joy when you drink that hot chocolate milk after a hard day's work. Just an example. Minimalism therefore becomes a meditative technique to recognise joy.
It makes me angry that she explains why people built houses outside of Brasilia's center. As a Brazilian, I can strongly discredit this explanation. Brasilia was built from scratch and promised to be the perfect city with new markets, factories and opportunities, so people from other poorer states began to move there to follow this promise, but obviously they couldn't afford paying for rent inside of the city, since prices were -and still are- higher than in many other states of Brazil, so they built very low cost houses outside of the city. It had nothing to do with the "lack of abundance" of the buildings.
I agree with her completely
lol. the video failed quickly due to the click bait title. werent for the title, the video has a point as it is about stimulating the senses which we do with art
I’m not seeing a strong connection between minimalism and color. Is minimalism the problem here?
So she created a profile for minimalism, which is not possible because minimalism has too many degrees to be summarised in a single study.
Woman, minimalism is about being aware that we are naturally whole by just being ourselves. It doesn't mean we stop enjoying a mundane way of living, we just don't get attached to it.
Anyway... Somebody please help her.
VR is/will be great for this.
I feel like Ms Lee has a weird conception of minimalism. I think a lot of people prefer a minimalist environments because it simplifies their life. I mean if you want to see bright colors and interesting patterns they are all around us.. just open your eyes. The wings of a butterfly, the complexity of a leaf. These are things that stimulate and make us happy and fulfilled in some cases. Also a zen Buddhist who spends a lot of time meditating has a very rich life in some cases. I feel like certain people may need constant stimulation but others can sit for hours.. dob't agree with her assessment.
Carnival originated in Egypt (not Europe) as a Pagan festival to celebrate the beginning of spring. Later adopted by the Ancient Greeks. Facts matter.
Colourful one!