[Book Review] What We See When We Ask, "What Should I Subtract from Life?"

Michael Easter's "The Illusion of Scarcity"
In the past, "scarcity signals" aided survival and growth
Today's society of "excess" leads to addiction
Less does not mean bad: a trick of the brain
When "moderation" collapses, everything is at risk
The courage to have less... Subtraction is the answer, not addition

Whether we want it or not, humans often fall into the trap of "excess." Overeating, overdrinking, overspending, and various forms of addiction to pleasure are all examples. The author, a journalism professor at the University of Nevada in the United States, identifies the "illusion of scarcity" as the root cause. He points out that the "perception of lack," which once enabled human survival, is now being misapplied in the modern era.

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In the past, during times of "resource scarcity," signals of deficiency served as useful warnings that helped humanity survive. When essential resources for survival?such as food, information, possessions, and time?were lacking, the very effort to acquire more increased the chances of survival. At that time, the total amount of results one could achieve through effort was limited, so the risks of "excess" were minimal, and relatively stable growth was possible.

However, in today's society of abundance, these scarcity signals can easily lead to addiction. In reality, there is a significant gap between our perception of desire and our actual needs. The author warns that a social structure that readily accepts overflowing resources has instead become a threat to human survival. He explains in detail, using scientific data, that when the balance of "moderation" collapses, both scarcity and excess can pose equal threats to survival.

The author states that the misguided process of resolving scarcity follows a specific cycle. The "discovery of opportunity" to obtain something leads to an "unpredictable reward," which then connects to "immediate repetition." This is similar to the mechanism of gambling. In fact, for early humans, obtaining food was akin to an unpredictable gamble. Life-or-death hunting, with its risk of death upon failure and the thrill of satiety upon success, served as a driving force for life and enabled humanity to push the boundaries of survival.

However, these scarcity signals now cause regression in modern society. For example, processed foods, which rapidly developed during World War II, later became a major cause of various adult diseases. In the 1940s, few Americans worried about belly fat, but by the 1950s, as food supply exceeded demand, mealtimes transformed into a "food fight." The author cites obesity researcher and author of "The Hungry Brain," Stephan Guyenet, explaining, "Just 100 years ago, gaining weight had a positive meaning, but since the 1970s, obesity has accelerated."

So how can we resolve this crisis? The solution the author proposes is "subtraction." The key is to escape excess and reduce things to an appropriate level. To illustrate this, he introduces an example from architecture. In a mission to reinforce an unstable Lego bridge, most people added more blocks, but in reality, removing a few specific blocks proved to be a more effective solution. He points out that the human brain perceives "less" as bad and unproductive, while mistakenly viewing "more" as good and productive. The brain, attuned to scarcity, fundamentally seeks "more" and does not consider "less."

In fact, in the United States, federal regulations have increased 17-fold since 1950, and the average size of homes has tripled compared to the 1970s. People now own 233% more clothing than in the 1930s, and restaurant portion sizes are four times larger than in the 1950s. Additionally, organizations across society are ten times more likely to add new programs than to eliminate existing ones. Information overload and the resulting increase in managerial positions have led to a 44% rise in management personnel since the early 2000s, and the volume of information is now 90 times greater than 15 years ago. Average meeting times within organizations have increased by 130% compared to the 1960s. As a result, most people complain of a lack of time. The author analyzes, "We feel like we don't have enough time. In fact, human life expectancy has increased, and the very nature of work has changed, so we have more time than ever before. Yet, we compulsively cram 'things to do' into our lives, which is why we feel pressured."

In addition, the author points out that unpredictable outcomes trigger greater excitement, and provides detailed examples of gambling, overspending, and addiction to social networking services (SNS). According to the various cases mentioned in the book, it seems that only the Tsimane people living in the Amazon rainforest are free from this "curse of excess." Ultimately, this is a story that applies to everyone living in modern society. However, it is regrettable that the latter part of the book becomes increasingly religious in tone and somewhat scattered in its development, which may hinder immersion. Furthermore, the use of slang such as "bullshit" and "lame" can lower the quality of the reading experience.

The Comfort Crisis | Written by Michael Easter | Translated by Kim Jaekyung | Bookie | 463 pages | 20,000 KRW