Addicted to Addition

This puzzle reveals something fundamental about how our brain works.

Image from Subtract by Leidy Klotz

Imagine you have to match the patterns on the left and right sides of the dark middle line by making the fewest possible changes.

What adjustments would you make to solve the puzzle? Think about it, and then continue reading.

What's interesting is that two correct responses are both equally valid:

1. Adding four squares

2. Removing four squares

However, only 20% see the option of removing the four squares, while 80% see the possibility of adding the four squares.

We're naturally inclined to add, while the option to remove seems much less obvious to most of us.

We're naturally primed to add things to improve our products, while the option to remove things to improve products is much less obvious.

Just ask yourself: When was the last time you removed a feature? Or did you remove something from a feature to make it better? I can guarantee it's far less frequent than all the times we've added features.

If we want to do a better job at removing, we must spend more mental effort thinking about what we should remove.

We're addicted to addition, and we suck at subtraction.

Always consider subtraction when developing products, and make more mental effort to consider what could be removed, as it comes less natural to us than addition.