A New Possible Solution

If there were an unpaired bed which has three broken feet, what would you do?

 You might want to fix those three feet and try to make it what it should look like. Actually, many people tend to solve problems by “addition”. However, “subtraction” can also be another solution. You can still use this bed by removing the single unbroken foot so that you can take a sleep comfortably. As you can see, people are apt to think much of addition but little of subtraction when they encounter difficulties, according to a team from University of Virginia in the United States. There are some more examples to explain this. When required to revise an essay, many try to make it longer and put more words in it. When asked to go over an itinerary again, most people attempt to add more sites to go to. 

As these facts suggest, “subtraction” can be considered less important than “addition”, even though there could be other solutions which cost less. This stems from the fact that humans originally hesitate more to remove things than to add things. However, the idea of getting rid of something unneeded, breakthroughs can be made just like Apple Inc. removed dial switch for iPhone which is spread around the world today. 

Under the crisis of COVID-19, a lot of companies are rather urged to try new business in the rush to global competition and meeting the demands than specializing in one business. However, business experts say the idea of “subtraction” can be a help for some companies facing financial difficulties. According to Professor Iwasaki from University of Shizuoka in Japan, during an investigation into 748 companies in Japan in October 2020, companies which focused more on improving quality than expanding business were less affected by the crisis of corona virus than companies that tried to start new other business. Furthermore, this idea could also help to solve global issues including labor, environmental, and governmental problems. 

As the team from University of Virginia says, expenses pile up as long as governments and councils do not disestablish departments but continue to add more of them. To sum up, the thing is that something important should not be subtracted, but “subtraction” might give you a hint to clear up your problems, and this can lead us to find a way to solve global issues in the big picture.