Less is more.
Right?
I’m scratching my head at this point. I’ve heard that saying for years. I think it means we should be happy with what we have, that simplifying is better than complicating and that we’d all be better off if we just cleaned out our stuff, downsized our homes and kept our to-do lists on a single page (no, make that a post-it note).
So why, when faced with a situation or idea that needs improving, do our minds go to adding an element rather than taking one out? That the solution to whatever project we’re tackling is answered with piling more tasks into our days, making another Amazon purchase, or creating a new committee of puzzle-solvers?
The answer, a study suggests, is that adding is easier than subtraction, at least that’s what our brains have been trained to think.
The study, featured on the cover of Nature and conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia, looks at how people look at situations that need improving and come up with adding an element, rather than removing one, in almost all circumstances.
No Wonder Life is So Complicated!
The researchers drew attention to the systematic default that people give with adding ideas, rather than discarding or subtracting elements that aren’t working. Leidy Klotz, one of the study’s key researchers, sees this behavior in every field – from engineering to writing and cooking.
“The first thing that comes to our minds is, what can we add to make it better. Our paper shows we do this to our detriment, even when the only right answer is to subtract. Even with financial incentive, we still don't think to take away," said Klotz.
It’s Easier to Add than to Discard
The research paper points out that adding ideas requires more thought than subtracting them. In fact, eliminating anything is hardly ever considered. And over time, there is a reinforcing effect of this thinking, solidifying a familiar neural pathway which is easier to cognitively travel. The habit becomes stronger and stronger with reinforcement.
Habit is a powerful task-master and the brain is comfortable, though unchallenged, when it retraces its steps.
The Big Picture of More, More, More
This morning I perused a local publication lamenting the lack of parking available for all the businesses and people that have laid claim to my hometown. Long-time residents complain about the traffic, the lack of affordable housing and the longer wait time to cash a check at the bank, to find a spot in the grocery store parking lot, to order at the drive- through Chick-fil-a. The solution, according to the publication, would involve the creation of new parking lots in strategic areas. Nowhere is a suggestion to contain the growth that has created this conundrum.
You don’t have to look too far to notice the havoc created by the common, if unwitting, acceptance of let’s-do-more. It’s readily apparent in everyday life - struggling with our over-booked schedules, dealing with the requisite red tape of institutions and exhausting our planet’s resources. Life may be in the details but the details have become life.
Study referenced in this article:
Gabrielle S. Adams, Benjamin A. Converse, Andrew H. Hales, Leidy E. Klotz. People systematically overlook subtractive changes. Nature, 2021; 592 (7853): 258 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03380-y