There's nothing new about the minimalist movement. The difference is that people are going from 'simplifying' to 'doing without'. Not the same thing but same type of thinking starts the process.

The problem I see with the doing without crowd is they're letting their masochistic tendencies walk away with their brains and common sense.

Maybe this example will make more sense. It is a given that children deprived of adequate nutrition suffer mental retardation and, if severe and prolonged, Kwashiorkor's Disease and death. Now take the given that caloric restriction is one key to longevity and apply it to children and you have a recipe for disaster. It's that same kind of thinking that takes people from reasonable to extreme in applying things. At some point the thinking distorts and well...we know what happens.

The trick is to take things IN CONTEXT and not go off on one tangent and ignore the other signposts along the way. Statistics lie and people don't always tell the whole story. To ferret out the truths within all and balance them is the saving grace in having a properly functioning brain...and applying it appropriately.

Sandi Bowman