I don't mind the design at all. . .but why would you want to discourage newcomers? Isn't diversity in thought and background good, even within a narrow audience like this one? I think that maybe the newcomers you're thinking of would be discouraged by the lack of images and high "density of information", but there are still other elements that could be improved that would not attract them. Also, is it so terrible to have radical ideas? As long as you're not flaming, trolling, etc.
I don't agree with this. There's nothing wrong with having the site look better; although it looks pretty good now. I like the minimal design; but some things (like the font used for writing comments) need to go.