Psychology

Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

  • Downloads：5270
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-24 09:51:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Leidy Klotz
  • ISBN：1250249864
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Summary

Blending behavioral science and design， Leidy Klotz's Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less offers a scientific appreciation of why we underuse subtraction—and how to access its untapped potential。

When humans solve problems， we overlook an incredibly powerful option: We don’t subtract。 We pile on “to-dos” but don’t consider “stop-doings。” We create incentives for high performance， but don’t get rid of obstacles to our goals。

Whether considering a stack of Legos， preparing a grilled cheese sandwich， or writing an essay， Leidy Klotz shows that we consistently overlook the principle of subtraction as a way to improve。 Our mental preference for addition—for adding to what’s already there rather than thinking of taking away—is so wide-spread and strong that we would prefer to accommodate wrong ideas than simply remove them。

Drawing from his own pioneering research and scientific research throughout history， Klotz examines cultural， political， and economic trends underlying our neglect of subtraction， asserting that we have billions of years of evidence showing that lifeforms are perfectly capable of subtracting to improve。

Proposing a new way to frame our behaviors， Klotz shares thought-provoking examples and anecdotes to supplement his proven techniques on implementing a new perspective and understanding of subtraction。 By learning to use the counterintuitive approach of subtracting， we can revolutionize not just our day-to-day lives， but our work across every field and industry。 Subtract shows how this innovative approach to life is the key to unlocking our greatest potential。

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Reviews

NonfictionAisle ，

Subtract:The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz aims to shine a light on our inherent bias to pile on while reminding us that removal or "subtraction"， as he calls it， is also an option， and very often an attractive one。 This propensity to add likely arises from our need to show competence and is evolutionary in nature。 The book presents numerous experiments and examples to illustrate the point and inspire us to add subtraction to our toolkit when it comes to solving problems。The topic is i Subtract:The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz aims to shine a light on our inherent bias to pile on while reminding us that removal or "subtraction"， as he calls it， is also an option， and very often an attractive one。 This propensity to add likely arises from our need to show competence and is evolutionary in nature。 The book presents numerous experiments and examples to illustrate the point and inspire us to add subtraction to our toolkit when it comes to solving problems。The topic is important and timely。 It is hard not to notice that Klotz's Subtraction has a lot of parallels with preachings of minimalism by Marie Kondo， Cal Newport et al。 However the scope of his book is larger than Kondo's clutter-free home and Newport's digital minimalism。 Klotz explores applying his ideas of less and removal to personal hobbies like the Legos as well as to larger challenges like city planning and climate change。 Leidy Klotz's writing is rigorous， passionate and personal， combining anecdotes from him family life with dozens of other well chosen stories。 The subtraction examples， like Maya Lin's design of the Vietnam Memorial and Kate Orff's Town Branch Commons project in Lexington， Kentucky are particularly illuminating。 I found the discussion on practical strategies more useful than the details of his numerous experiments。 Ideas like subtracting before improving， reusing the subtracted， subtracting to noticeable less， and the idea of overcoming negative word valance are pragmatic。 The overarching idea is that meaningful subtraction often takes more effort than simple addition， but the outcome is worth the labor。 In summary， Leidy Klotz's Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less， with its bare minimal "subtracted" cover design， is a book worth reading。 Visit my blog at https://www。nonfictionaisle。com 。。。more

BOOKLOVER EB ，

"Subtract，" by Leidy Klotz， has implications for economics， sociology， politics， education， city planning， psychology and many other fields of immense importance。 The central theme of this work of non-fiction is that "to transform systems， we need to find the essence， which means we need to subtract detail。" Our default setting is to add rather than to take away。 More possessions， more activities， and more knowledge make us feel wealthy and important。 However， what price do we pay for "more" of "Subtract，" by Leidy Klotz， has implications for economics， sociology， politics， education， city planning， psychology and many other fields of immense importance。 The central theme of this work of non-fiction is that "to transform systems， we need to find the essence， which means we need to subtract detail。" Our default setting is to add rather than to take away。 More possessions， more activities， and more knowledge make us feel wealthy and important。 However， what price do we pay for "more" of everything？ Is it possible that having fewer possessions， a shorter to-do list， and a smaller number of facts rattling around in our brains might lead to a more productive use of our time？Such talk is counterintuitive。 We are hard-wired to add stuff， and most of us find subtracting painful。 The author， citing studies conducted by him and others， along with anecdotes about Legos， architects， and climate change， explains why we should: 1） Take a hard look at each untenable situation that we face。 2） Consider how subtraction might help us solve problems more efficiently。 3） Publicize the idea of subtraction so that it becomes part of the conversation。 4） Take bold steps to use addition and subtraction in the most optimal manner in order to achieve the most desirable results。Klotz brings up Costa Rica as a great example of this philosophy。 This beautiful Central American country has no army and a small gross domestic product， but its citizens have a higher life expectancy than Americans。 Costa Ricans do not seek to enrich themselves by building plants that pollute。 Instead they prioritize the preservation of ecosystems over the attainment of wealth。 Costa Rica has hundreds of species of birds， rain forests， bodies of clean water， and thriving crops of coffee beans and bananas。 Its leaders are taking steps to reduce carbon emissions and recycle the carbon that they have to plant more trees。 Although this book has a vital message， it may not appeal to all readers。 The prose is dense， a bit slow-moving， and weighed down with too much jargon。 Still， "Subtract" offers sensible strategies for overhauling our culture of clutter， greed， and unsustainable growth。 By adding ad infinitum， we are robbing ourselves of space， a pristine environment， peace， and joy。 。。。more

Benjamin A。 ，

Leidy Klotz is an excellent communicator with an insightful message to share。 This book is full of great stories， elegant explanations， and incisive examples of the power of subtraction。 It's easier to imagine a world with MORE; it's harder to imagine a world with LESS。 Leidy's book is going to show you that both are important and valuable paths to improvement， and help you get to the point where you routinely consider both。 If you want to stop neglecting subtraction - if you want to get better Leidy Klotz is an excellent communicator with an insightful message to share。 This book is full of great stories， elegant explanations， and incisive examples of the power of subtraction。 It's easier to imagine a world with MORE; it's harder to imagine a world with LESS。 Leidy's book is going to show you that both are important and valuable paths to improvement， and help you get to the point where you routinely consider both。 If you want to stop neglecting subtraction - if you want to get better at honing your ideas， at working more efficiently， at helping your family or your team accomplish their goals more conveniently - dive into Subtract right away。 。。。more

Paulo ，

A critical way to think for any facet of life - personal， professional， and parenting。 Leidy's ability to adapt his engineering mind to the real world is remarkable。 Enjoyed how he is able to focus in on one thing and then layer on and zoom out to show the macro impact。 Could have kept reading more and more of his writing。 It was excellent！ A critical way to think for any facet of life - personal， professional， and parenting。 Leidy's ability to adapt his engineering mind to the real world is remarkable。 Enjoyed how he is able to focus in on one thing and then layer on and zoom out to show the macro impact。 Could have kept reading more and more of his writing。 It was excellent！ 。。。more

Bec Weeks ，

Subtract has been a fantastic addition （har har） to my thinking toolkit。 Leidy builds a compelling case to show that we overlook subtraction， even when it’s the most efficient way to solve a problem。 We’re along for the ride as he and his collaborators work to test and prove their hypothesis that people consistently neglect subtraction as a way to create change。Once you read this book， you won’t be able to help noticing all the opportunities for subtraction in your daily life and in the world ar Subtract has been a fantastic addition （har har） to my thinking toolkit。 Leidy builds a compelling case to show that we overlook subtraction， even when it’s the most efficient way to solve a problem。 We’re along for the ride as he and his collaborators work to test and prove their hypothesis that people consistently neglect subtraction as a way to create change。Once you read this book， you won’t be able to help noticing all the opportunities for subtraction in your daily life and in the world around you。 It’s harder to think of subtraction compared with addition。 It’s often also harder to implement subtraction。 But after reading Leidy Klotz’s book， you’ll want to try harder。 。。。more

Michael Milberger ，

A really fantastic （and easy read at well under 300 pages） read from Leidy Klotz。 Well researched， entertaining， and actionable。 Through eye-opening anecdotes and solid science， Subtract offers practical tips on how to simplify your personal and professional life。 As a parent of two young boys balancing work and life during a pandemic， this book could not have come at a better time。

M Jacks ，

An excellent read。 Subtraction is a simple concept， but tricky to execute。 This book provides the research and stories to support something we all already know， less is more。 And then motivates the reader to apply it to their life。 As a physician， I see endless opportunities for subtraction in healthcare。

David Wineberg ，

Leidy Klotz says he has a longstanding obsession with less。 He has written a book called Subtract， to attempt to infect everyone with his obsession。 It is true we don’t think in terms of subtraction; we’re all about adding on， all about more。 Overbuilding， overengineering， hoarding， wordiness – you name it， we’re busy adding to it。 Bigger houses， bigger cars， bigger bodies … Economies are all about growth， which is proving to be problematic。 Evolution is forever adding， usually without discardin Leidy Klotz says he has a longstanding obsession with less。 He has written a book called Subtract， to attempt to infect everyone with his obsession。 It is true we don’t think in terms of subtraction; we’re all about adding on， all about more。 Overbuilding， overengineering， hoarding， wordiness – you name it， we’re busy adding to it。 Bigger houses， bigger cars， bigger bodies … Economies are all about growth， which is proving to be problematic。 Evolution is forever adding， usually without discarding the redundancies。 Addition rules。But Klotz has found some wise people over the ages who could see more clearly than that。 He says Leonardo Da Vinci defined perfection as when there was nothing left to take away。 Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu advised， “To attain knowledge add things every day。 To attain wisdom subtract things every day。” So what’s the big deal？ Let’s just do it！Studies show that subjects automatically go for the more and rarely the less。 As Klotz says: “We humans neglect an incredibly powerful option; we don’t subtract。 We pile on to-dos but don’t consider stop-doings。 We create incentives for high performance but don’t get rid of obstacles to our goals。 We draft new laws without abolishing outdated legislation。 Whether we’re seeking better behavior from our kids or designing new initiatives at work， we systematically opt for more over less。” To give one solid example that Klotz refers to repeatedly， faced with a Lego bridge in which the two support towers were of different heights， almost every person chose to add a piece to the shorter one than to remove a piece from the taller one in order to make them even。 The point is that people simply don’t even think in terms of subtraction。But they should， he says。 New insights come from subtraction。 My favorite example from the book is of Anna Keichline， the first female architect licensed in Pennsylvania。 She invented the cement block， the basis of countless buildings and other structures around the world。 She looked at the solid blocks that builders had used until her time， and thought – what a waste。 The strength of the block was in its walls， not its center。 So instead， she made blocks that were hollow。 They were cheaper， lighter， easier to handle and transport， and easier to assemble。 All by subtracting the cement inside。 Brilliant。Subtracting can be hard。 Klotz offered payment to his university students to redesign the house he just bought。 The best subtractive ideas would be rewarded。 Although legions signed on， no one could come up with a valuable idea that came from subtracting。 Klotz， who happens to be an architect among other things， ended up putting an addition on the house。 He pleads not for negative thinking， but to make subtracting an equal partner in design and decision-making。 It should be addition and subtraction， not addition or subtraction， he says。 Subtracting could be the real outside the box thinking。There are four ways to think more subtracting: invert – try less before more。 Expand – subtract as well as add。 Distill – get to the essence by stripping away the unnecessary。 Persist – keep focused on innovative subtraction。The book suffers from far too little to say in far too many pages。 There is endless discussion of observing his 2½ year old son and Klotz’s own shoe closet of 14 different models of sneaker。 There is way too much repetition of stories he has told earlier。 And although his stories range throughout the planet and history， they don’t necessarily buttress his case for subtracting。 And he admits that。 They’re interesting enough stories， just not great proof。So while Subtract is good concept， it could really use some merciless editing to give it， well， less。David Wineberg 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0