But I must take issue with your Lego analogy. As all Lego fans will tell you, Lego sculpture is indeed made up of only a few kinds of block, which when viewed from further away allow gives the impression of smooth shapes. On the other hand, a Lego model (ie a kit you buy in a store) would require a wider selection of blocks to be effective. It’s a matter of scale, if the blocks are merely pixels in a large scale sculpture you need very few kinds of blocks, whereas at a smaller scale you need more kinds of blocks—indeed even specialised pieces that exactly resemble real world items such as wheels and tires.

Dreadfully geeky, but Lego is a very valuable educational tool from a design and engineering perspective (at least that’s my excuse