If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Have you ever wondered why our brains instinctively choose to add more tasks and objects to our lives, even when we know we're already overwhelmed?
- What if the secret to solving your most complex problems isn't about what you can add, but what you can take away?
- Are you curious about how our evolutionary history has programmed us to overlook the power of subtraction in favor of 'more'?
Listen to Subtract — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Subtract
- Discover why human beings are biologically and psychologically wired to add rather than subtract when trying to improve a situation.
- Understand why subtraction is a powerful, yet overlooked force for positive change that can transform everything from daily habits to urban landscapes.
- Learn what a simple Lego building block experiment reveals about mental accessibility, and why taking things away rarely occurs to us as a solution.
- Find out how simply reminding yourself that subtraction is an option can drastically improve your decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- Explore how our evolutionary drive to acquire resources and display competence makes it difficult to eliminate physical clutter and unnecessary work.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from Subtract
Mind Map
Subtract
The Bias to Add
Defaulting to More
Why We Constantly Add
Biological & Psychological
Historical & Cultural
The Hidden Power of Subtraction
Transforming Spaces
Dismantling Oppression
Mastering Subtraction
Doing the Hard Work
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 7
What does the story of Sue Bierman and the San Francisco freeway illustrate about human behavior?
Subtract — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Subtraction is a neglected driver of change.
Chapter 3: Subtracting is harder to call to mind than adding.
Chapter 4: Adding helps us feel capable and content.
Chapter 5: Addition came first; civilization followed.
Chapter 6: Keynesian theory suggests we grow wealthy by adding.
Chapter 7: Structural oppression can be reduced through subtraction.
Chapter 8: Subtraction repays the extra work it demands.
Subtract Summary & Overview
Subtract (2021) explores subtraction as a way to make positive change. It examines the human love affair with adding and having “more” – and it explains how our brains and environments work against subtraction.
Who Should Listen to Subtract?
- Design professionals looking for a fresh perspective
- Psychology buffs wanting new insights
- Anthropology enthusiasts
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