Week 9: Minimalism versus Maximalism

Week 9, two churches of ricing, and the aesthetic philosophy hiding inside a taste for empty space or full ones

19 April 2027

Ricing has two congregations and they do not worship together. The minimalists hold that a desktop should recede, that the empty wallpaper and the single clock are a discipline, and that everything you remove is a thing you have mastered enough to do without. The maximalists hold that a screen is a canvas, that density is generosity, and that a desktop crowded with widgets and colour is a person refusing to apologise for wanting more.

This lecture treats the split as the aesthetic philosophy it is rather than a matter of taste to be smoothed over. Minimalism and maximalism are competing answers to the same question, which is what a desktop is for when it is not being used. We look at the honest and dishonest versions of each: minimalism as clarity against minimalism as fear of commitment, maximalism as abundance against maximalism as noise standing in for a decision. You will end the course in one church or the other, and you should know which and why.

In this lecture#

• the two positions and the claim each makes about attention
• empty space as discipline, density as generosity
• the failure modes: emptiness as avoidance, clutter as indecision
• why this is philosophy, not preference

Before next week#

Push your setup hard toward one pole for a day. Record what you gained, what you missed, and whether you want it back.