Sometimes Less Is More, Says Bestselling Author David Epstein
28 Nov 2023
Sometimes less is more. Just ask David Epstein, the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Range and The Sports Gene and Expert on the Science of High Performance. In his latest post in his Range Widely newsletter, Epstein writes about “The Christmas Tree Effect.”
Epstein explains that our intuition is to add things—like more ornaments on a Christmas tree—to solve problems but sometimes we should take away. Epstein cites a study by two scientists, who researched the effect of electronic road signs that displayed the number of traffic deaths in a given year on the roads of Texas.
“The pair studied eight years of traffic data, and 880 electronic warning signs,” Epstein writes. “Here’s the conclusion, in an unfortunate nutshell: The fatality signs increased the number of crashes. The scientists estimated that the road sign campaign caused an additional 2,600 accidents and 16 deaths per year, in Texas alone. The researchers think it’s because these signs, which are meant to grab your attention, grab your attention. Like, when you should be paying attention to the road.”
“The researchers in this road-sign study guessed that, because the signs displaying fatality stats are interesting to look at and consider, they increase a driver’s cognitive load,” Epstein adds. “Thus, the driver briefly has less brain power available to deal with driving.”
In an interview with an Army officer, Epstein learned that in the design of new body armor, the makers kept adding things to improve it. With the additions, it became too heavy and soon outweighed some small soldiers. The design was reset and the Army ended up with a better piece of equipment that was lighter and more effective.
For Epstein, himself, the space for his newsletter is unlimited but with the information he’s learned, he has begun to resist cramming more into a post. “But now if I find myself beginning an internal debate about whether to cut or add something, I just cut it,” he says. “End of story.” Say goodbye to all those extra ornaments!