An icon is a symbol equally incomprehensible in all human languages An icon is a symbol equally incomprehensible in all human languages. There's a reason why humans invented phonetic languages. Jef Raskin, Steve Jobs iconographysymbols
Economy of material and labor Whatever the comparative merits of [various bed framing methods], what is clear from Aristotle's Mechanica is that economy of material, and labor, was as much an issue in ancient times as it is now. Henry Petroski, The Evolution of Useful Things The requirements of economyThe art of not constructing simplicity