In Pursuit Of Elegance: Why The Best Ideas Have Something Missing (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
A book about elegance - mostly in a business context.Matthew May begins by giving lots of examples of elegant ideas, that is, ideas that are simple, symmetric and powerful - and that in most cases reduce complexity rather than increasing it. Factories in the US, Europe and Japan that went from money-losing to money-making by cutting out bureaucracy and radically reducing the number of job titles. Apple's relentless removal of 'indispensable' features, like keypads on the iPhone, and its surprisingly minimalist marketing campaigns. A Nobel-prize winning way to keep vegetables fresh in the African desert with nothing but two clay pots and a towel. Jackson Pollock's paintings, which, when analyzed, reveal mathematically perfect and astonishingly simple fractal patterns.It turns out that curiosity is one key to elegance. You usually need to leave something to the imagination - otherwise people lose interest, lose focus and won't engage with your product or initiative. May says that out that our brains' instinctive "gap filling" and "bias for action" prevent us from finding elegant answers. We fail to think about the assumptions or causes which underlie our problems. How can we find elegant answers more often? Studies show that, paradoxically, we come up with elegant ideas in 'aha!' type moments that follow a relaxed detachment and/or taking a break. The key is to try and be in an 'in the zone'-type state of mind, like that of a pro athlete: confident, yet neither over-thinking nor under-thinking a problem. Wow--From the book, Prologue:"But why, you might still be wondering, is this so important?...Because we need some way to consistently replace value-destroying complexity with value-creating simplicity. Because we need to know how to make room for more of what matters by eliminating what doesn't." p.12An exploration of why some plans, actions, etc capture our attention and become innovation--breakthroughs if you will.4 key elements--seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability.Something I want more of in my life!
What do You think about In Pursuit Of Elegance: Why The Best Ideas Have Something Missing (2009)?
I enjoyed this. A quick read much in the style of a Gladwell book. Some interesting insights
—jemjem26
Easier said than done ideas. I'm not too into the business-y self help kind of books anyway.
—Alana
Good enough, for what it is, but it should have been a lengthy magazine article.
—tori
Seems very intriguing, but too deep for my scatterbrain right now.
—Hey
