Minimalism does not ask you to dump your stuff. It helps you focus on and enjoy what you love by removing the tangible (things) and intangible (thoughts and distractions) away from it.

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Imagine a time before the internet. Random people at a coffee shop or bar read a news article in the evening paper and start a discussion. Sometimes, that discussion gets loud depending on the sensitivity of the issue. This isolated discussion does not have the power to change the course of the topic by itself. It really depends on the people discussing. No matter what the outcome or volume of this discussion, one thing is apparent: each participant can see other participant’s face. They may even know their name. This exposure in identity helps maintain a level of honesty through accountability that anonymous comments in a blog post does not.

The anonymous commentator may or may not share their true views. It is the lack of accountability coming from their anonymity that adds noise to a new reader of the article. At least it adds to the noise when I read. Recently, I got into a lengthy discussion on Bikejax about segregated bike paths. I always sign my comments with my real name and a link to my website. My website shows you my face and gives you a way to contact me directly. The person I was debating with simply signed their name as David. There was no link and no last name. It might as well say ‘Anonymous#1′. I might as well have been talking to a wall!

My Policy

I will switch off comments on all my blogs. You may email me or find me on twitter to discuss each post. On posts not hosted by me that harbor comments, I will comment with my full name and link to my website. I will only respond to those commentators who show some kind of a link to their web presence. Commentators who are either anonymous or have a name that I cant identify personally will be treated as noise.

More Posts about Comments

Seth Godin – Why I Don’t have Comments
Everett Bouge – 7-ways-to-invest-your-time-besides-commenting-on-blogs
ProBlogger – Should Blogs Have Comments?

AT&T has no 3G coverage in White Springs. Edge takes longer for data transfer and more battery life. Being on a minimalist overdrive,  I switched email from hourly push updated to manual only.

Friday through Sunday, I proceeded to immerse myself in the fantastic folk sounds of guitars, banjos and harmonicas at the Florida Folk Festival. I rode my xtracycle from stage to stage. Every time I used the phone to take a picture, check the weather or tweet (using twitterlink), the Mail app showed no emails (since it has to be opened to update). This kept the phone usage to a minimum. Feedtwit sent me mentions as text messages.

I checked and processed emails once a day in the evening while charging it. Life was uninterrupted.

Technology sometimes makes us do more things. We should hack technology to make life simpler. I am not going to change the manual email update setting. Life is more peaceful this way.

It all started with me reading Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead. That book occupied most of my mental horsepower leaving little for writing. Filled with a lot of questions and debates towards Objectivism, I did some light reading before diving back into Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This book answered a lot of my questions when I read it the first time and I am hoping to collect some tools to analyze Objectivism with.

Between and reading and a sizable amount of workload at my job keeping me busy, I have been battling the cold on my motorcycle on my way to work and back. Having grown up in Bombay, I am not very used to the cold and the twenty five minute trip each way takes a toll. I spend most evenings lying in bed, no lights, no sounds, my greyhound tucked next to me complimenting my need for seclusion. I cook dinner, fix lunch for the next day, watch a few minutes of TV over dinner, then go back to reading. I have gone days without switching on my laptop. I keep up with emails on my iPhone.

This alone time has enabled me to look around my already sparse apartment and evaluate the need for some clothes and a metal book shelf. I now have a big laundry basket full of clothes to give away and a book shelf photographed to sell on Craigslist.

I am rarely riding my bicycle. I walk everywhere. To the locally owned coffee shop, making friends with the Alva, the owner, showing off my greyhound to the neighborhood, she making more friends than I am, both furry and non.

This hiatus is good. It is a minimal state of being, living with less. No schedules, no commitments. You should try it sometime.