Stephen Downes

Simple is rarely more efficient, and is not accomplished by seeking efficiency. This is a great lesson drawn by Dave Truss from Picasso and applied to lesson planning. Truss writes, "Picasso didn't do his final drawing by asking, 'How can I use the least amount of lines to draw a bull?' In each drawing he took away the non-essential components, leaving behind only what was necessary." An excellent point. Additionally, I would note that you get to the six-line bull only after having created and abstracted from the original bull. Simplicity is not equivalent to efficiency. Further, what counts as 'essential' is likely to vary from person to person, circumstance to circumstance. Picasso, Rodin and Dali may each draw the same bull in different, but equally essential, ways.