Leidy Klotz Books
Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the intersection of engineering, design, and behavioral science. His research focuses on how people make decisions about adding and subtracting in pursuit of improvement.
Known for: Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less
Books by Leidy Klotz
Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less
In 'Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less', Leidy Klotz explores why humans tend to add rather than subtract when solving problems, designing systems, or improving their lives. Drawing on research from behavioral science, design, and engineering, Klotz reveals how subtraction—removing, simplifying, and reducing—can lead to more effective solutions and greater satisfaction. The book challenges the cultural bias toward accumulation and addition, offering a new framework for thinking about creativity, efficiency, and progress.
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The Additive Bias
The journey begins with acknowledgment — we are wired to add. Across hundreds of studies and thousands of observations, the same pattern emerges: presented with the opportunity to improve something, people add. They add features to designs, steps to processes, arguments to essays. Rarely do they con...
From Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less
Evolutionary and Cognitive Roots
To understand why addition rules our thinking, we must trace its origins to the wiring of the human mind. Evolution favored accumulation — of resources, tools, alliances. In ancient environments where scarcity threatened survival, adding was safer than subtracting. Those who gathered more food, made...
From Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less
About Leidy Klotz
Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the intersection of engineering, design, and behavioral science. His research focuses on how people make decisions about adding and subtracting in pursuit of improvement. Klotz has published widely in academic journals and po...
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Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the intersection of engineering, design, and behavioral science. His research focuses on how people make decisions about adding and subtracting in pursuit of improvement. Klotz has published widely in academic journals and po...
Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the intersection of engineering, design, and behavioral science. His research focuses on how people make decisions about adding and subtracting in pursuit of improvement. Klotz has published widely in academic journals and popular media, and his work has been featured in outlets such as The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, and Nature.
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Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he studies the intersection of engineering, design, and behavioral science. His research focuses on how people make decisions about adding and subtracting in pursuit of improvement.
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