svrsishodnost
@vernadskova and i had a collaborative philosophical discussion on how to exactly translate the concept of svrsishodnost as it lacks any direct translations or similar terms that would be, well, svrsishodni, but in the end comrade sibila and i came to a conclusion:
A way of thinking that takes into account the purpose, the function, the usefulness and the appropriateness of a certain action or an object. To be svrsishodan is to serve a purpose, to have a function and to do it well or well enough. The key is in the subjectively perceived relationship between functionalism and minimalism, balancing them in order to eliminate redundancy, futility, unsuitability. To partake in svrsishodnost is to make do with what one already has; to use what you already have on hand that could perform a desired function, fill a specific purpose satisfactorily enough and to such a degree that it eliminates the need for some other tool that could do a better job but that is now rendered unnecessary given that what you already have works well enough. Svrsishodnost could be understood as minimalism applied in the context of everyday life without creating excess. It’s not about efficiency, it’s about making a judgement about usefulness and necessity required in order to achieve a certain purpose. In a microcosm, it’s about my grandmother’s old coffee grinder that has been sitting in a drawer for years ever since her death because my mother only buys pre-ground coffee, and it’s about the fact that my mother now uses that old coffee grinder in order to grind her pepper. Getting a separate pepper grinder would be much more utilitarian and efficient, but in every day use it is redundant; the old grinder might be harder to clean and it might not do the job perfectly, but it serves its purpose more than well enough in order to be svrsishodan.
