Over at Irreal, JCS says “I don’t understand what those desiring a minimal confutation are seeking or why they’re seeking it,” speaking of Emacs configuration.

I agree. While I used to be intrigued by minimalism in the past, overall I’m over the idea. For one, while minimalism and productivity come close in our world of constant distractions, but they are not the same thing; for another, I came to appreciate some “tchotchkes” in my life that have no use besides reflecting style or personality. Take this sticker for example, on the shelves on my desk:

Auto-generated description: A sticker featuring two alien-like characters with googly eyes, one red and one blue, with text around them and another sticker of a colorful, artistic character nearby.

It’s an inside joke between me and NK while reminding me of the good-natured silliness we have in this apartment, and of course, it’s the Muppets. I don’t need this sticker; it has no function, but at the same time, it brings a smirk to my face when I get off my chair in my room to say good morning to my partners - so why not?

Emacs configurations is somewhat similar. Sure, it’s technical, and it’s a collection of computer instructions, but anyone who’s been messing with their Emacs configurations for more than a couple of months had comments all over their config file, not to mention (as JCS also explains in his post) the choice to include certain configuration to make Emacs fit their lifestyles. It’s one of the reasons reading through these configuration files is fun: each one is a bit different, with different ideas and perspectives. Emacs is a personal tool, and each person has their own Emacs “stickers” inside their config.