Throughout life we are trained in the art and virtue of tidiness. As children we’re told to keep a clean bedroom, as adults a clean office. But what if our immaculate home and work environments are holding us back? What if beautiful, novel ideas prosper in a state of disorder?
Spick and span share a long association with morality and righteousness. “Messy or tidy — which is better?” writes University of Minnesota researcher Kathleen D. Vohs. “Historically, the evidence has favored the tidy camp. Cleanliness, as the proverb says, is next to godliness.” Another school of thought, however, preaches the value of disarray.
