Subtract by Leidy Klotz Summary

Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz explores why humans default to adding solutions rather than subtracting, despite subtraction’s proven effectiveness. Blending behavioral science and design, Klotz reveals how removing obstacles often outperforms adding complexity—from urban planning to personal habits—with examples like simplifying Lego structures or streamlining policies.

This book is ideal for professionals in design, leadership, or sustainability, and anyone seeking efficiency in work or life. Klotz’s insights benefit innovators, educators, and individuals aiming to challenge cultural biases toward addition, offering frameworks for systemic problem-solving.

Yes—Klotz combines rigorous research with relatable anecdotes, providing actionable strategies to rethink problem-solving. Its interdisciplinary approach (drawing from psychology, biology, and economics) makes it valuable for personal growth and organizational change, with The Washington Post and Freakonomics praising its counterintuitive wisdom.

Klotz argues that societies systematically neglect subtraction due to cognitive biases, cultural norms, and economic incentives favoring addition. He demonstrates how removing elements (e.g., simplifying workflows or policies) often yields better outcomes than adding, using evidence from evolutionary biology and case studies like San Francisco’s highway removal.

The book critiques systems that equate "more" with progress, such as GDP growth metrics or cluttered product design. Klotz highlights how subtraction aligns with sustainable practices, citing economist Elinor Ostrom’s work on resource management and urban planner Sue Bierman’s waterfront redesign.

• Audit existing systems: Identify redundant processes or tools.
• "Stop-doing" lists: Prioritize eliminating inefficiencies over adding tasks.
• Reframe problems: Ask, “What can I remove?” before defaulting to additions.

Klotz cites the removal of San Francisco’s Embarcadero Freeway to revive waterfront spaces, Japan’s ma (negative space) philosophy in design, and Amazon’s “two-pizza teams” minimizing bureaucracy. These cases show subtraction enhancing functionality and aesthetics.

Some critics argue Klotz underplays scenarios where addition is necessary (e.g., infrastructure gaps) or that systemic barriers make subtraction harder to implement. Others note the book focuses more on theory than granular tactics.

Klotz expands on his interdisciplinary research at the University of Virginia, where he merges engineering, architecture, and behavioral science. His prior focus on sustainable design and NSF-funded projects aligns with Subtract’s themes of efficiency and systems thinking.

Amid AI-driven automation and climate urgency, Klotz’s principles help streamline tech adoption and reduce waste. The book’s emphasis on “doing less better” resonates in industries tackling burnout and overconsumption.

While Atomic Habits focuses on incremental additions for change and Essentialism on prioritization, Subtract uniquely targets systemic redesign through removal. Klotz provides empirical evidence for subtraction’s impact, contrasting with anecdotal approaches.

• “We fixate on adding even when subtracting makes things better.”
• “Life is the ultimate subtractor—editing evolution’s failures over millennia.”

These emphasize humanity’s overlooked capacity to edit and refine.