This is certainly a sort of restating of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occams_razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occams_razor except with the assumption that the

This is certainly a sort of restating of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occams_razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occams_razor except with the assumption that there's a lot of material to start with. I think these kinds of patterns are nice thought experiments for sure... for instance the antithesis to what you speak is to start with the absolute bare minimum, and then to consternate quite a bit before adding anything. Additionally one could use randomness or Vonnegut style cut-ups to juxtapose unrelated ideas into possibly new concepts. I'm glad you have found a method that works for you! That is perhaps the best statement of all.