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Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

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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.

304 pages, Hardcover

Published April 13, 2021

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About the author

Leidy Klotz

3 books37 followers
Leidy Klotz is a Professor at the University of Virginia, with appointments in Engineering, Architecture, and Business. He studies the science of design: how we transform things from how they are to how we want them to be. He has secured over $10 million in competitive funding to support this new area of research. To share research insights with those who can use them, he has written more than 80 articles and two books. To apply these insights to address climate change and systemic inequality, Leidy also works directly with organizations including the World Bank, the World Design Organization, and ideas42.

Before becoming a professor, Leidy managed the design and construction of large engineering projects and before that he played professional soccer.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews
Profile Image for David Wineberg.
Author 2 books782 followers
March 6, 2021
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
Profile Image for Richard Thompson.
2,190 reviews106 followers
June 23, 2021
There is an unfortunate modern tendency to write book length works about article length ideas. This is another one.

I liked and agreed with the author's thesis that many things can be improved by subtraction when we seem to have a natural tendency to default to addition. Simplify, simplify, simplify. It doesn't always work, but it certainly won't work if we don't even consider the possibility. Mr. Klotz speculates that the tendency to favor addition may be a product of natural selection. Perhaps. He doesn't make a convincing case for that but it is an idea worth considering.

Mr. Klotz rightly points out that getting to an optimal outcome may involve more than simple subtraction, perhaps some combination of addition and subtraction. So sometimes optimization is complex, even when the net outcome is a simpler place than where you started. This is another interesting idea.

But all of it could have been said in 50 pages. Mr. Klotz should have found a way to put some more meat on the bones when he decided to make this a book.
1 review
April 8, 2021
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!
4 reviews
June 13, 2021
Concept was interesting, the anecdotes were tiresome (especially the ones about family) and the book felt like it could have been 100 pages shorter. It also got preachy about racism and climate change, which was cringey even though I care about those topics.

key takeaways for me:
add AND subtract
less is not loss
make subtracting positive
persist to less
you can use what you subtract
1 review
March 24, 2021
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.
1 review2 followers
March 25, 2021
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.
Profile Image for Bec Weeks.
1 review2 followers
April 2, 2021
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.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
231 reviews10 followers
October 27, 2021
I'm being generous with the 2 stars. I listened to the audiobook version and was mostly bored. Couldn't wait for it to be over but stuck it out to the end. I think I went into the book expecting (and wanting) some practical information and every day application. I got none of that. It meandered. I don't feel it gave me anything useful.

Right now I'm in a book that DOES give you usefulness and practicality. It's called Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. You should subtract Subtract from your shelves and add Digital Minimalism.
Profile Image for Debjeet Das.
Author 18 books24 followers
May 18, 2021
- [ ] Given the chance or moment, We are always tempted to add more & more; but the result is we are full of unnecessary information, we suffer from information overload, we suffer from decision fatigue which deteriorates our quality of decision making.

- [ ] Why lists with less win?
- Our working memory has very restricted space & capacity. We cannot both represent every detail of a system & also expect to use information.
- When we are considerng complex system , we need to avoid overwhelming the capacity of our working memory.
- Lao tsu said- "To attain knowledge  add things every day. To attain wisdom subtract things everyday".
- With too much information- it is hard to separate signal from noise. It clogs our mental bandwidth for processing information.
- The simplest selection filter is that, if you cant use it, it is definitely not information worth storing.
- Always write down fewer notes, it forces to filter important from inessential content. Weeding less useful ideas allows the indispensable ones to flourish.
- The pinnacle of mental subtraction is when we remove ideas that are no longer correct,or never were in first place.

- [ ] Reasons to add more
- Ikea effect- it means we like things better that we have built ourselves. Products, ideas, even relationships that you've invested effort, time, and money into are usually very hard to throw away
.
- Sunk cost-  We chose adding because we think previous information we have built are useful to gain new insight,no matter whether it was incorrect. If we have to reject our previous thought we feel our investment ,time ,effort was wasted & it was sunk cost,which is hard to convince. Best way forward is less attachment to prior effort.

- We chose not to subtract  because we assume that, if something exists ,there is good reason for it.

- Loss aversion- losing something is more harder than adding something. Losing $100 feels worse than winning $100.

- To show competence-When we transform things from how they were to how we want them to be , we need proof- to show mates, competitors ,& ourselves.No matter how beneficial an act of subtraction, it doesnt give any evidence of our effort.

- Accessibility & cheap Dopamine- Infiltration of social media and daily news in our life has pushed us for relentless scrolling & momentary excitement ,which is counter-productive.

- Stress correlates with adding objects. When we are stresses, we clutter our desk,we start eating more, we try to do more things than we can actually do, we try to solve multiple problem.

- Panic buying  is fuelled by anxiety, way to assert some control over the situation by taking an action like stuffing items during covid pandemic. Our instinct to acquire is, by nature ,skewed towards more.

- Material culture- It helps us living in society,As part of society ,we constantly compare ourseles with peers,neighbours etc. & to win this endless battle we continue to add more  food,shelter,accessories,cars,gadget etc. Culture reinforces our adding tendencies.
These reinforcing needsdemand more natural & human resources,& to get them adding culture have expanded.

- capitalist market-  less doesnot pay off in capitalist market. Distinguishing feature of capitalism is capital accumulation- which is by definition additive. Any effort to stop neglecting subtraction is futile because system is broken.


Real life situation where we see subtraction is useful

- In business- Most big companies outsource their non -core jobs to developing countries to improve their product focus & effciency.

- During Deep & Long uninterrupted thinking- We put off all external disturbances- we switch our devices, we put Do Not Disturb board outside. Deeper search gave people more opportunity to find subtractive solution.

- When we want to build knowledge framework or new  skill, best thing  to do is to restrict your searches to the minimum.Follow few and authentic source.

- When we express ourself through formal writing or formal conversation- most effective way is to keep things brief and get to most important point at begining,subtract deviating,useless information. Omit needless words.

- Busy trap- compulsion to fill our days with activity has become the new normal. As life moves faster, we are  trapped by endless to-do lists, over-scheduled calendars and full inboxes. We rush from one thing to the next, desperately trying to get ahead. Before long, we reach a breaking point. We feel overwhelmed, resentful, frustrated, and drained.
The best way forward is prioritize most serious task, delagate work & stop multi tasking- all part of subtraction.
-

How can we make believe people that subtraction is useful?

- One way to induce deeper mental research is through repetition, which forces us to think beyond the first idea. Asking people to repeat the problem could help them solve it with subtraction.

- Knapping- It is the act of smashing rocks and stones to change them into tools and weapons.Our ancestors made useful tools by spending their time subtracting from rocks.

- Evolution- In finding adaptation that more likely to pass down our gene, natural selection does plenty of downsizing.

- synaptic pruning- On the whole, synaptic pruning is an important part of growth and development. Old, unused synapses are lost during pruning. ... So, overall synaptic pruning isn't just good, but vital a vital part of your body's maintenance.

- Simplify- Whenever we are assigned task that is complex ,we proceed it with breaking task into small component & start solving each smaller parts . So simplifying task is important for completion.

- Chartjunk-  refers to all visual elements in charts and graphs that are not necessary to comprehend the information represented on the graph, or that distract the viewer from this information.

subtracting chart junk means - Erase non-information ink.Erase redundant information-ink.Revise & edit.  When we maximize data-ink ratio , the information we share can do more than meet expectations. It can bring unexpected insights.

Instinct for relative quantity

- We always believe that difference between two larger number is less than difference between two smaller number; even if both results are same.
eg first shake of salt  on vegetable changes taste more than 10th. Raising weight from 1 to 2 is more beneficial than from 9 to 10.
What matters is not the absolute amount added, more useful is the relative amount added.

For equal outcomes, addition is more precise than subtraction. This is why "start small" is always being told to make perceptibe difference. It is harder to imagine starting big.

Our instinct for relative quantity makes it harder to accurately imagine the outcomes of subtractive changes. And if these changes take away more than what was already there, they are impossible.

Pascal said- "negative numbers are useless if we use apple or candies as units of less and more".

The abstract idea of negative numbers defies intuition- until we map it to some pre-existing understanding in brain.

scaling subtraction

Seeing systems is particularly important for subtraction. We can blindly add good things without fuly understanding the connection between them. But before we get rid of it,we need to see acknowledge it,identify it and describe it.

The subtracting insight remains fundamental as we embrace uncertainty. When we are part of complicated systems where every part is interlinked to every other part and one small changes in one part affecting others .

We can use our knowledge of subtraction by removing obstacles or un-necessary linkages rather adding another layer of complexity.

To transform the system , we need to find essence , which means to subtract details.Then persist to noticeable less & dont forget that you can reuse your subtraction.

Some tools-
Triage- In emergency situation, subtracting detail to get to the essence of system is very crucial.Most efective way -get the checklist,

Jenga- In Jenga, rules promotes balance. Jenga forces us to subtract first, requiring that we pull out block from one of the lower levels before we add to the top levels.

Doughnut model- Removing the ball of dough from the centre of doughnut lets it cook more evenly- & provides more surface area for sugar.
The removed ball can be reused to give meaning to somewhere else.

Constructivism- we construct meaning bases o interaction between our surrounding & our mind. Construct in constructivism means We always  build knowledge by adding new information to our preexisting ideas of how the world works. Our new ideas stand on old ones.

Analogies- We build analogies from familiar things to better comprehend unknown ones. Analogies work because they feel like accomodation, they allow us to keep one foot in what we know while we seek new ground with other.

If we take new idea & support it with analogy  to a valid idea that's already set in learners mind,then only we cang get rid of misconception.

Analogies subtract detail to declutter knowledge before it goes to our mental models.

Relationship between economic poverty and bad decision

Cognitive effect of being poor leads to bad decision. A high school student forced to spend her bandwidth thinking about whether to buy food for her younger siblings or books for her studies find it harder to also be thinking about the content of the books. What is more , with her bandwidth already taxed by books-or-food dilemna,she has less space to process new information about her situation.
Poor people often trapped in this condition of mental scarcity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mahmoud Aghiorly.
Author 1 book661 followers
December 29, 2022
الكاتب ليدي كلوتس يتحدث في كتاب الطرح عن المفهوم العلمي والنفسي وراء فكرة الطرح ، أو فكرة "الأقل هو الأكثر". يناقش الكتاب الطرق التي يمكن أن يؤدي بها التبسيط والتقليل إلى زيادة الإنتاجية والإبداع والرفاهية في مختلف مجالات الحياة ، بما في ذلك العمل والعلاقات الشخصية والروتين اليومي و يقدم الكاتب هذه الفكرة عبر العديد من الأبحاث والامثلة ضمن مجالات وسياقات مختلفة , ويقدم بعض الاستراتيجيات والنصائح لكيفية تطبيق مبادئ الطرح في الحياة الخاصة , والكتاب أيضاً يغوص في الأسباب البيولوجية والنفسية وراء الرغبة الدائمة لدى البشر بالحصول على المزيد و الخوف على الدوام من التقليل او الفقدان أو الطرح بحسب وصف الكاتب , ويقول الكاتب أنه يتوجب علينا ان نتجاوز هذا الخوف , سواء كان ذلك في مجال التعليم او الصحة او البناء وحتى الإدارة و ترتيب الأفكار , الكتاب يحاول ان يقدم التبسيط والطرح والتقليل كقيمة حقيقية موازية للكسب وذلك من أجل حياة أكثر سعادة و أكثر سلاسة , الكتاب لا بأس فيه و تقيمي له 3/5
Profile Image for Parisa.
50 reviews55 followers
July 24, 2022
So, you’re wondering whether we neglect subtraction as a way to
change things?

In our brains, accessibility affects how often we bring
stored ideas to bear on our surroundings.

The “clash” is between those who define themselves by their own abilities, values, and attitudes (independent), and those who define themselves by their relationships, social roles, and group affiliations (interdependent).

Golden quotes to always carry with me.
Profile Image for TrudyKJP.
202 reviews15 followers
January 4, 2022
I really liked this book. It has made me try to think of taking away instead of adding layers to problem solving and ways of doing things. I love the concept of more-ality and the trap that has become for us. I have come away with some new perspectives and a new tool for looking at life.
Profile Image for Peter Aronson.
377 reviews15 followers
January 5, 2023
Three-and-a-half stars. I really wanted to like this more, but instead of a profound exposition of a interesting and profound phenomena -- our tendency to add to things rather than to subtract from things -- we get a sloppily reasoned pop science book in the vein of Malcolm Gladwell. And for a book that talks about so much about subtracting, it contains an awful lot of unnecessary material about the author and his family.

But the biggest weakness is that the author never really gets into what subtraction is. There's a bit at the beginning where he admits that some things can be looked at as either subtraction or addition, then it is dismissed out of hand, and never brought up again. And most of the examples he gives are not clearly addition or subtraction.

But the book was not a total waste -- the psychological research was fascinating, and the principle that we often overlook subtracting things in favor of adding things is important.

(The book also had the annoying feature that all of the notes were unlinked end notes, making the book look even more lightweight than it actually was, but I blame that on the publisher.)
Profile Image for Holly.
1,054 reviews262 followers
August 25, 2021
I found much of this interesting and I think I got the overall point, but it wasn't always easy to get my head around the concepts.
80 reviews
Read
March 9, 2023
i am not rating this because i did not want to read it in the first place
Profile Image for Matt Stevens.
5 reviews7 followers
October 12, 2021
This book would do well to heed it's own advice. A drawn out farrago that fails to showcase the beauty in "Via Negativa" (a term that's strangely never mentioned in the book). The preachy excursions into racism, sexism and climate change are decidedly surreal.

"It turns out that forty thousand years ago was a crucial time in human history … Since humans could not even imagine a new situation, any changes could only have been due to instincts." - Absurd to be so matter-of-fact about such a thing, have you spoken to a human from then?


"With our newfound appreciation for cultural multitudes…" - Ancient Rome has the modern West beat in this regard, they would have been stupefied by the modern obsession with race.


"Just as Leo Robinson, Run-DMC, and Ibram Kendi help us recognize and dismantle racism, we need to recognize and remove the invisible structures exploiting our common future."


"Except, [Alan] Kurdi wasn't napping. He was photographed after washing up on the beach, having drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. As he had throughout his short life, Kurdi was migrating because of the Syrian civil war, a social unraveling likely hastened by a drought made worse by climate change." - The evidence used to prove the drought-migration link comes from displacement reports published by the Syrian government and UN assessment missions. The two are claimed to be linked because they coincided in time. Scientifically, this is not enough.


"If we could simply remove those wrong ideas like cancerous tumors, the new ones would fit in most naturally. It’s a nice thought." - I prefer Wittgenstein's ideas to Chomsky's… who would judge this to be "wrong" and to need removing like a "cancerous tumour"?


In short:

Humans have a tendency to acquire things, and they use this mode of acquiring in what ever they do - such as buying an exercise bike when you want to lose weight. This is as true for mental things as it is for physical. An extreme form of physical acquiring manifests as hoarding, and for mental acquiring… it can manifest in anxiety and a loss of attention. Being aware that removing things is an option before performing a task will give you far more options and make you more effective in every area of your life.
Profile Image for Scott Wozniak.
Author 4 books86 followers
June 23, 2021
This was an interesting topic--how we default to addition, not even considering subtraction. But ultimately the approach this book took to this topic was vague, conceptual and not helpful. In the end, this book turned out to be an exploration of the academic studies he had conducted to find out if people thought of subtraction and dismissed it or didn't even think of it at all. Not much more, really. So, if you're looking to learn how to change your thinking or clever ways to make your life better through subtraction, then don't read this book.
9 reviews
September 19, 2022
if i could give negative stars i would 😌. genuinely the worst book of all time, no wonder zero eschool kids even heard of it OOPS 🙊. spent like a week trying to read it at night and i was absolutely, ubiquitously, magnanimously SHLUMPED 😴🥱within 5 MINUTES WITH THE LIGHTS STILL ON 💡💡💡i swear that book was more effective than taking 10 pills of melatonin and nyquil each 😬😬😬 anyways the main message that less is more i agree with but this book was so repetitive i couldn’t put it up 🆙🥸😮‍💨😵‍���🤮👺👹🫦🫵👃👣
Profile Image for Ali Sattari.
125 reviews34 followers
September 3, 2021
Key take away: subtracting is usually not visible and probably won't help us prving out work/worth in a group/team. That's why we tend to add by default.
Profile Image for Ryan Smith.
45 reviews
January 21, 2022
Definitely could have been shorter in some parts, but I appreciate the message and the historical examples were interesting.
39 reviews9 followers
January 7, 2022
Having decided to bring in the new year over a book, Subtract, by Leidy Klotz was my choice, having stumbled on it in a Blinkist list of ’22 powerful ideas for 22’. Just to clarify, and save what I can of my reputation, I read this around the new year period, not actually into the midnight hour (if that helps at all!). As the title suggests, the core idea of the book is that humanity has the tendency to add rather than subtract in our response to situations and that adding subtraction as another tool in our kit makes sense. It is a cool idea, definitely worth keeping in mind and one that we will do well to use actively as we enter a new year, resolutions, clean slates and all. The book is well researched and talks through the central idea very comprehensively. That said it certainly suffers from the recent tendency of authors to say in a book what they could say in an article (a though well worth a book to itself and aspirationally one thing we need to solve for in 22!). As one of the reviewers of the books put it rather bluntly, the book could ironically have done with some subtraction!

The basic premise comes from the author’s realization that we look at addition as a means to solving problems when subtraction would do as well. It starts off with a few strong stories that bring out instances where subtraction was a better solution than addition. The first is of San Francisco’s Embarcadero freeway, which has now become a much visited waterfront thanks to the efforts of Sue Bierman. Surprisingly, the city opposed it when it was originally proposed and stumbled on this solution only when an earthquake brought down a part of the original freeway. Most resident of the city could not get themselves to agree to the removal of a part of their city infrastructure as it was seen as counter to growth and success. The subtraction of the freeway however gave them a lot more. The next story is of Leo Robinson, who started the financial subtraction that brought down apartheid. His approach was of financial boycotts to weaken the system rather than actively fighting the regime. The last story was of Elinor Ostrom subtracting from the theory known as the ‘tragedy of commons’, through active research that led to carve-outs proving that active system intervention prevented this tragedy. All the stories talk of a counterintuitive approach that individuals took, against active opposition, to use subtraction as a solution, and of subtraction as a credible and perhaps more powerful solution than addition.

The book goes on to detail the study that the author undertook to establish this addition bias. Various statistically studies proved that to a neutral audience, addition was the primary response to a situation. This changed if they were made aware of subtraction as a credible alternative, making it clear that subtraction is less mentally accessible to us than addition. The book goes on to try and establish the philosophical underpinning for this default choice. The conclusion is that addition is typically seen by us a the competent option and adds to our sense of fulfillment. History gives us further insight into this predisposition as this process of addition underpins our evolution from nomadic hunter gatherers to city dwellers. Success for humanity was in increasing our possessions, a tendency we have let permeate every facet of our existence and thinking. This has become the foundation of our economics as socialistic thinking collapsed globally and consumerism has become the central thinking in our quest for success and happiness. The book goes on to establish that in many instances, subtraction is actually the better alternative.

As I indicated earlier, the book covers the central idea comprehensively and provides an academically rigorous read. The key philosophical point that it is a biological choice from a bygone era that seems to be guiding our consumerism and urge to keep acquiring, is important for us to understand and address, for us to retain our sanity as humanity enters the coming era of abundance. It is a great thought to add to our repertoire as we enter the post pandemic period which has forced us to adopt new habits without our having shed the old. It is definitely a key idea for us to keep in mind, reacting to any situation, in making the right choices when it is getting cheaper and cheaper to acquire and consumerism has brought us to the place where acquisition is the end rather than the means to an end. That said this is a book that can productively be read as an abstract without losing much, to save your time to read for something more worth your while! It is certainly a key idea I will carry into the new year.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Adam.
957 reviews24 followers
September 9, 2022
I like this. There is quite a bit that just doesn't do much, so I get the lower rating it has. But, the principle and application examples are pretty helpful. In essence, the idea is that we have a natural inclination to add; add pieces, add ingredients, add programs, add standards, whatever. But, that has been proven to take more time, take more money, and frequently makes things less effective. There is strength when we mutually respect the option of subtracting with the option of addition. Where might you subtract first instead of as an afterthought, subtract from a system to make more efficient, subtract to refine, subtract to train more effectively, subtract to make more effective? One simple example that shows this is the recent development of the strider bike for 2-5 year olds. It took a lot of thinking to finally (after a hundred+ years of bike history and innovation) think of the benefits for a bike without a chain and how that could work for young kids to not only allow them a similar experience but also train them to balance before their body is developed enough to also pedal and brake. A lot of the book feels obvious and redundant (it is), but a lot of it challenges our biases and natural inclinations to convolute through adding. While reading it I had multiple distinct insights on how to explore innovations for my job and it gave me at least a basic system of re-evaluating my job in a way to look for fresh ways to provide the products and outcomes I am seeking. Also, this is the clear layout of a principle we all know is true, but nobody has every explored and explained. So, it's a critical skill and idea that we need to consciously practice, rather than passively assume works on its own, without purposeful thought. We see the point of so much in life is to thin down, minimize, essentialize and reduce. Subtracting is the critical principle of getting that outcome. So we have to at least acknowledge and practice that it is not add or subtract, but add AND subtract to get it right.

Chapter 6 - Scaling Subtraction - The four Laws of Less
Profile Image for Maggie.
21 reviews
December 28, 2022
dnf! so basically i picked up this book back in sep because it was a mandatory read for the eschool kids and matthew said he’d give anyone $100 if they could finish it. being the absolute stubborn ass that i am i was determined to prove him wrong! unfortunately i did not survive to tell the tale of this book because i couldn’t make it more than 3 pages before falling asleep. i don’t exaggerate when i say this shit is stronger than melatonin. i found myself rereading sentences and entire pages and yet i still could not grasp a single concept or message the author was trying to convey. having read a good 15 pages, i can confidently argue that this book is a waste of paper. 0/5
Profile Image for Ethan Nguyen.
89 reviews6 followers
March 31, 2022
Our biology, our culture, and our economies all conspire to keep us locked in a cycle of acquisition. But you can create positive change by going against the grain and removing things instead. Subtracting isn’t the easy road – or the shorter process – but you can transcend “good enough” and get to beauty, simplicity, and real progress by actively taking away.

I do not entirely agree with some perspectives from the author because of its extremity. However, this is a fine book with such good rationales.
Profile Image for Amanda.
457 reviews10 followers
June 21, 2022
I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars. I'm giving this 3.5 stars, because they idea was really good; I didn't love how it was written (a little boring) and I had to force myself to finish it. I felt like what he said in the first two chapters summed up the whole book. The rest were specific examples, which are helpful, but I felt like they could have been written to be more interesting to listen to. Great ideas, just not my favorite execution. I felt like it could have been a long article instead of a book.
Profile Image for Ariel.
78 reviews
December 23, 2023
A worthwhile concept - and, ironically, something of a redundant book. Less is more, and this book reiterates from different angles and fields the ways in which that proves to be true. It’s useful to reflect upon how pluriform our options for reducing and removing, for adding while also subtracting, for divesting or stopping.

One of Klotz’s key points about our Too Much Information Age is that our brains will distill down to the essence when we find something worth remembering. The title of his book says it all and will stay with me for some time; the question is where and when and how I will be able to implement the central missive.
182 reviews1 follower
September 21, 2023
Although this book didn't always demand my attention it did keep me thinking when I wasn't reading it. I even changed a few things in the courses I am teaching this semester, this book had me asking do I really need to do this and the answer was no so I took them out of the course
Profile Image for Paul Ransom.
Author 4 books3 followers
November 14, 2023
Once in a while, a book arrives that both challenges your thinking and confirms your instincts. Personally, 'Subtract' is one such example. Leidy Klotz's thoughtful yet approachable investigation of 'subtraction neglect' is a reminder that we so often overlook the option of less. He goes deeper than 'less is more' cliche and unpacks a raft of cognitive, intellectual and cultural influences that drive us towards the addition default. In doing so, he offers examples from fields as diverse as urban design, social justice campaigning and pre-school playgrounds. Cleverly, he embeds his research in everyday scenarios, thus making the basic case for subtraction seem realistic. Klotz's multi-discipline approach and personable style make 'Subtract' one of the best arguments for getting our less-lists happening. I could say more here but...
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