Subtract To Solve
What is it:
Subtract to solve is a concept of removing or subtracting something to simplify a situation, or solve a problem. Simplifying can often lead to more effective solutions.
When researchers at the University of Virginia asked 1,585 study participants to solve puzzles or problems where they could either add or subtract elements, the majority chose addition, even in cases when subtraction made more sense.
In fact, unless instructed otherwise, most people never consider that less could be more. When asked to improve an essay, most people lengthened it. When asked to improve a recipe, most tossed in more ingredients. When asked to spruce up a travel itinerary, most people added more stops.
In our lives, we all have a tendency to add when thinking about solutions - I have too much stuff, I need more storage. There’s space in our living room, let’s get more furniture. I just got this new skirt, let me get a new top and shoes to go with it.
This might explain our collective behaviour as a species, like our tendency to clutter our homes or create systems bloated with bureaucracy and red tape.
For many generations, the standard way to learn how to ride a bicycle was to add training wheels. But in recent years, many parents have opted to train the kids with balance bikes, pedal-less two-wheelers that enable children to develop the coordination and balance needed for bicycling; a skill that would not be as easily acquired with an extra set of wheels.
In some European cities, urban planners have found that getting rid of traffic lights and road signs actually makes streets safer; an idea that runs counter to conventional traffic design.
So think about this the next time you encounter a problem:
What can you remove? What can you subtract? What can you minimise?
Reframing the urge to add ingredients helps reduce the complexity of the problem at hand, leading to simpler, more creative solutions.
Prompts for application:
What happens if I take away one rule, step, or assumption?
If I had to solve this in half the time or with half the resources, what would I cut?
If this problem existed 100 years ago, how would they have solved it without modern tools?
Sources:
When solving life's problems, people tend to add even when it's easier to subtract: study
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