Nature, University of Virginia researchers explain why people rarely think of removing something as a solution when looking at a situation, object or idea that needs improving. Instead, people almost always add some element, whether it helps or not. The team's findings suggest a fundamental reason for several problems: why people struggle with overwhelming schedules; why institutions become bogged down in red tape; and, of particular interest to researchers, why humanity is exhausting the planet's resources. "It happens in engineering design, which is my main interest," said co-author Leidy Klotz. "But it also happens in writing, cooking and everything else -- just think about your own work and you will see it. The first thing that comes to our minds is, what can we add to make it better. Our paper shows that we do this to our detriment, even when the only right answer is to subtract. Even with financial incentives, we still don't think to take away."