Note: This is subject to future work. Errors, ambiguities, and omissions are to be expected.
If notation is indeed a tool of thought then an unnecessarily complex or restricted one may translate into unnecessarily complex or restricted thinking and designs.
Simple things may become complicated.
Instead of dealing with the complexity of a problem, we may have to deal with the complexity of a notation and try to workaround or avoid the places where it acts against us. This effect is significant if this happens over and over across domains.
It leads to a buildup of an enormous amount of unnecessary complexity in the systems that are built on top of a complex syntax. This accidental complexity then must be dealt with by the maintainers and users of the systems, removing space for addressing essential complexity.
By addressing the problem at the level of syntax we may then unexpectedly solve many other problems at once.
This is precisely what TAO offers. It arises from the application of the principles of minimalism and simplicity to syntax with the hope that they will inform thinking and design on higher levels and simplify the world.
TAO is in line with the following recognized principles: