Subtract- The untapped Science of less

• 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.
• 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 can 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.