Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less

by Leidy Klotz

Overview

"You need to read this book." —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A great book changes the world you live in, revealing mysteries you didn't even know were there. This is a great book." —Sendhil Mullainathan, MacArthur fellow and author of Scarcity

Blending behavioral science and design, Leidy Klotz's Subtract offers a scientific appreciation of why we underuse subtraction—and how to access its untapped potential.

We pile on “to-dos” but don’t consider “stop-doings.” We create incentives for good behavior, but don’t get rid of obstacles to it. We collect new-and-improved ideas, but don’t prune the outdated ones. Every day, across challenges big and small, we neglect a basic way to make things better: we don’t subtract. Klotz’s pioneering research shows us what is true whether we’re building Lego models, cities, grilled-cheese sandwiches, or strategic plans: Our minds tend to add before taking away, and this is holding us back.

But we have a choice—our blind spot need not go on taking its toll. Subtract arms us with the science of less and empowers us to revolutionize our day-to-day lives and shift how we move through the world. More or less.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250249876
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	38,570
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Leidy Klotz studies and writes about how we transform things from how they are to how we want them to be. His research on the science of problem-solving has appeared in both Nature and Science and has been covered in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post among national newspapers on five continents. A professor at the University of Virginia, Leidy has authored more than 80 original research articles and writes on applications of his research for design, art, parenting, personal finance, climate change and many other fields.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Other Kind of Change

Part I Seeing More

1 Overlooking Less: Legos, the Lab, and Beyond 23

2 The Biology of More: Our Adding Instincts 47

3 The Temple and the City: Adding Brings Civilization, and Civilization Brings More 74

4 More-ality: Time, Money, and the Modern Gospel of Adding 110

Part II Sharing Less

5 Noticeable Less: Finding and Sharing Subtraction 143

6 Scaling Subtraction: Using Less to Change the System 171

7 A Legacy of Less: Subtracting in the Anthropocene 199

8 From Information to Wisdom: Learning by Subtracting 224

Takeaways 249

Acknowledgments 253

Image Credits 255

Notes 257

Editorial Reviews

"12 Best Business Books of 2021," Wealth Management
Behavioral Scientist's Notable Books of 2021
Habit Weekly top 100 Behavioral Design Books
The Growth Equation 21 best books of 2021
RARE Center for Behavior and Environment Summer Reads
Economics in Ten Recommended Reading
Inc. 12 New Books Every Leader Should Read this Summer

"A good book whisks you on a journey to foreign lands filled with exotic ideas and captivating stories. A great book changes the world you live in, pulling back the curtain to reveal mysteries you didn't even know were there. This is a great book. Anyone who has interest in understanding their lives better—and who doesn't—should read it."—Sendhil Mullainathan, MacArthur fellow and author of Scarcity

“This is a captivating, perceptive read on one of the most basic mistakes that we make in the pursuit of success and happiness. Combining his expertise in architectural engineering and behavioral science, Leidy Klotz pinpoints a gaping hole in our mental math: we’re constantly adding tasks, commitments, and possessions to our lives while neglecting to subtract any. If the defining word of your life is ‘more,’ you need to read this book.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN and ORIGINALS, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

“Leidy Klotz leads the reader on an intellectual journey as he explores the fascinating question: In designing our world, why do we always seem to add rather than subtract? Subtract is a great blend of academic research, stories, and practical tools. Enjoy the journey!”—Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick and author of Upstream

“The best book I read this year.” —Bob Sutton, New York Times bestselling author of The No Asshole Rule


“Behavioral science at its best helps people to improve their lives. It may help them think about old things in new ways or add new and better habits. In Subtract, Leidy Klotz shows us how deleting things from our lives can lead us to exciting new places.”—Carol Dweck, author of Mindset

“Subtract is simply brilliant. With engaging and moving prose, Leidy Klotz travels back and forth between kids’ toys, evolution, Dr. Seuss, anthropology, racism, cognitive psychology, urban planning, global warming, and architecture to teach us that often, the best way to solve problems is by taking things away—by subtracting. To learn how to subtract, you must first add Subtract to your reading list.”—Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice and Why We Work

“There could be no more important time to read this well-researched book, when so much needs subtracting: the prejudices, norms, and rules that perpetuate structural racism in our country; the mindless consumption that puts us on the hedonic treadmill and destroys biodiversity and a livable climate on our planet.” —Elke Weber, Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment

"The heart of Leidy Klotz's SUBTRACT is a brilliant catch-all philosophy for living well: humans are predisposed to add—money, ideas, inventions, possessions, complexity—but the route to well-being is to take away. Subtraction doesn’t require you to be rich, or to have superhuman self-control, or plenty of free time. All you need is the right attitude, and a toolbox that will help you learn you to subtract effectively. SUBTRACT is that toolbox." —Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of IRRESISTIBLE and DRUNK TANK PINK

“An engaging style and breadth of examples that guides the reader through an important new view of thinking by removing.”—Eric J. Johnson, author of The Elements of Choice

"The novel perspectives offered in Subtract make it a worthwhile read for decision-makers everywhere. Through its collection of contemporary psychology, anthropology, and economics, Subtract challenges its audience to defy standard modes of thinking and work to enhance organizations and cultures to reach new potentials." —J. Alexander Thew, War on the Rocks

From the Publisher

05/31/2021

Klotz (Sustainability Through Soccer), a University of Virginia engineering and architecture professor, makes a bold but poorly executed case for the benefits of a minimalist approach to life. Klotz argues that when one is seeking to make changes, the natural instinct is to add (more tasks, more content, more objects) while overlooking solutions that involve doing or having less. Unfortunately, Klotz gets lost in the weeds, and instead of supplying practical suggestions, turns his attention to examples of minimalism in art and science. While some illustrations of how excess is prized come off as too amorphous (Keynesian economic theories or the rise of the Anthropocene), his arguments are most memorable when they draw on the world of design, such as in his explanations of the genius of the cement block and the Vietnam Memorial. Some ideas are intriguing, with shades of Cal Newport’s minimalism and Daniel Kahneman’s paradigm-shifting approach to psychology, but Klotz’s reasoning is hindered by repetition, tangents, and philosophical overreach, such as reflections on “interdependent multitudes” and the duality of the Hindu goddess Kali. This overfilled and underbaked take on a fertile topic makes for frustrating reading. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2020

Copenhaver Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, Klotz argues that in problem solving of any kind, we shouldn't keep adding on new and different takes but instead subtract, trying to figure out what we shouldn't be doing. With a 125,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal