The magic behind the dramatic and enduring impact of creative elegance, while it remains rare and radical, is not new. Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu understood the power of the missing piece when he wrote this verse over 2500 years ago:
Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub,
It is the centre hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel,
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room,
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there,
Usefulness from what is not there.
