[One Sip of a Book] What We Need Now Is Subtraction, Not Addition

Editor's NoteSome sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with the reader, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from books.

According to the author, a behavioral scientist, humans have an instinct to always add something. The "endowment effect," where people assign greater value to an object after owning it than before, is evidence of this. However, he emphasizes subtraction. While incentivizing employees, one must remove obstacles to productivity; while discovering new ideas, one must strive to eliminate outdated customs. He stresses that adding does not necessarily mean filling up, and subtracting does not necessarily mean losing.

Su Beerman removed highways to make San Francisco the most visited city in the world. Leo Robinson withdrew investments to dismantle apartheid. Elinor Ostrom enabled humanity to cultivate a better shared future by removing flawed ideas. All three changed the world for the better thanks to their thoughts, courage, and perseverance. They brought about these changes because they seized opportunities others missed. - p. 22, Prologue

Adding too much and not subtracting enough appears foolish in experiments. But what happens when such behavior occurs in real life? It leads to sadness. Just as stress is linked to overeating, Preston discovered that the act of adding things is related to stress. In extreme cases, failing to consider subtraction when deciding what to remove can be a sign of severe anxiety and depression. - p. 79, Chapter 2: We Instinctively Only Add

Reusing what has been subtracted allows one to enjoy additional benefits of subtraction. After adding and changing a system, we are left with an "improved" system. But after subtracting and changing a system, we are left not only with a new and improved system but also with what was removed from the system as a bonus. - p. 247, Chapter 6: The Power of Subtraction That Creates Change

One of my favorite tips to realize the principle that "less is more productive" is to take as few notes as possible. This is like the information version of the organizing tip to clear out clothes from your closet that you haven't worn even once in a year. Whether clearing out unworn clothes or useless information, the key in both cases is filtering out what is unimportant. If a shirt is valuable, I would have worn it recently. If an idea is valuable enough to make it to the finals, I would have thought about it enough to remember it well without needing a notebook. - p. 292, Chapter 8: Distilling Information into Wisdom

The Art of Subtraction | Written by Laidy Klotz | Translated by Lee Kyung-sik | 352 pages | 18,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.