Why people forget that less is often more

  • 📰 TheEconomist
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 61 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 28%
  • Publisher: 92%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

New research suggests that humans struggle with subtractive thinking

COLIN CHAPMAN, the founder of Lotus Cars, was one of motor racing’s most influential engineers. His philosophy was “simplify, then add lightness”. A stripped-down, featherweight car might be slower on the straights than a beefy muscle-machine, he reasoned. But it would be faster everywhere else. Between 1962 and 1978 Lotus won seven Formula One constructors championships.suggests that humans struggle with subtractive thinking.

Along with colleagues at the University of Virginia, Dr Adams conducted a series of observational studies. In one, participants were asked to alter a pattern on a grid of coloured squares to make it symmetrical. Although that could be done equally well by adding new squares or by deleting existing ones, 78% chose the additive option. Other tasks gave similar results. In three different studies involving modifying structures built from blocks, just 2-12% of respondents chose to remove blocks.

Having established that addition does indeed seem to be more popular than subtraction, the next step was to work out why. One possibility was that people were considering subtractive options, but choosing not to pursue them. Another was that they were not even thinking of them in the first place. Enter a new set of experiments, each with a twist.

Asking people to make a golf course worse rather than better did not change their preference for additions, scuppering the idea that extra features might be seen as desirable in their own right. Practice improved people’s chances of spotting subtractive solutions, suggesting that many were simply not thinking of the possibility, at least at first.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

People 'struggle with subtractive thinking' according to . This explains why GOP voters can't move on from a sociopathic psycho ex POTUS. NPR NormOrnstein DavidCayJ drdave1999 NormEisen

Check out my Gig I will designs a unique children book cover

What a stupid article!!

'Humans' is only white westerners?

3Qhrs55tSy257YdwCovNqXRDmZ2d78inwp That is my address. Am I lucky?

😂😂

Breaking! 192 hours, 8 days in a row: Wind electricity in UK & Scotland = 5.4% capacity

It’s the way we are taught. If people were conditioned to solve a problem by understanding it first and looking for root cause, we would be better at subtractive thinking.

This just in: the 99.99% who prefer addition to subtraction have something in common

Ya think...Trump was president.

How to find Einstein inside you Every human has the capacity for some form of genius.

The simple fit case of my analytical work, regarding the paradigm of the so-called four, well known forces of physics, can be mathematically put in terms of this equation: 4 -- 3 = 1. That can be called a simple solution to what's been thought an extremely complicated problem.

Everyone has an agenda, even . I never really read the finance section but I’d imagine there’s a lot in there about Options trading and such.

1/8 Solar & Wind are 0 emissions? Each 1 MW of solar farm power requires between 35 to 45 tons of steel, + you need to dig for cadmium, gallium, germanium, etc Make silicon Silicon metal is made from the reaction of silica (SiO2) -

At least in America, decisions are often made /solutions are generated only when necessary, thus, contributing to the cognitive load explanation. Additionally, subtraction often involves navigating more hurdles / bureaucratic politics, thus, it's easier to add.

I am looking for new, good friends

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Elizabeth Olsen Explained Why She Deleted Her Social Media And Why She's 'Never Going Back'“I am terrified of that pressure.”
Source: BuzzFeed - 🏆 730. / 51 Read more »

Why so many people are skipping their second Covid shot — and why they shouldn'tWhen the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that almost 8% of the millions who have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine hadn't returned to get the second shot they need, it raised concerns that the country might not be able reach herd immunity.
Source: CNN - 🏆 4. / 95 Read more »

Why Social Media Companies Can Censor Trump, And Why Your Boss Can Censor YouIn response to the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, various social media companies suspended or banned President Trump from using their platforms. Private companies have similar power over the free speech of their employees, depending on the context.
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

Why Social Media Companies Can Censor Trump, And Why Your Boss Can Censor YouIn response to the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, various social media companies suspended or banned President Trump from using their platforms. Private companies have similar power over the free speech of their employees, depending on the context.
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

Why Complexity Science Has Relevance To Building AI Leadership Brain Trust?This blog is a continuation of the Building AI Leadership Brain Trust Blog Series which targets board directors and CEO’s to accelerate their duty of care to develop stronger skills and competencies in AI in order. This blog explores the linkages of complexity science and its relevance to AI.
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »