Via Negativa

Via negativa is the idea that it’s better to solve problems by removing than by adding. I first learned about it from Nassim Taleb’s book: Antifragile.

The via negativa concept is based on the mystical Eastern Orthodox traditions: apophatic theology. It is a spiritual approach that defines God by negation. Its thesis is that God’s true essence is beyond human intellectual comprehension. We can’t understand God, but we know what is not God. Eight of the Ten Commandments are interdictions rather than prescriptions; the word of the Abrahamic God implies that forbidding works better than prescribing.

Invert, always invert

In his book Poor Charlie’s Almanack Charles Munger recommends inverting, always inverting. When investing don’t ask “How can I make the most money?”, ask “How can I lose the most money?” Then avoid all these bad investments. It’s generally easier to foresee what will fail than what will succeed. It’s thinking backward; asking how you might fail, then avoiding it.

This idea comes from the German mathematician Jacobi: proof by contradiction.

Coming up with a list of things not to do is easier and more effective. By avoiding all the worst options you are already above average.

Sleep

This winter I had difficulties sleeping. I was waking up during the night and had difficulties going back to sleep. Even after 8 hours of sleep I felt tired in the morning; I wasn’t getting good quality sleep.

The problem was that I was snacking and drinking water an hour before going to bed. Buying a fancy mattress or doing breathing exercises before bed wouldn’t have helped as much as not snacking and drinking liquids after dinner.

Sometimes I would also go to bed restless and toss and turn for hours thinking about politics, work, the economy, or some other thing outside of my control.

For years I tried meditating before bed, and while it was nice and somewhat relaxing, once I got into bed my mind would go into a doom loop of overthinking. It turns out the solution was simple: no news, and no social media. Not reading the news has done more for my own well-being and sleep than meditating, journaling, or regular walks in nature.

Static website

In web development static website generators like Zola or Hugo remove an entire step from the traditional Content Management System. Tools like WordPress and Joomla generate webpages from a database; each request requires the server to query the database and render the page as HTML before sending it over the wire to the client.

Static website generators produce HTML pages directly on disk; there’s no need for complex querying and processing on the webserver. It saves resources, simplifies the deployment of the website, and makes the website faster.

Hosting a static website is simpler, faster, and more secure than hosting a full-featured content management system. All this is achieved by removing the moving parts from the web server.

Camera

Smart phones are a major source of distraction; they are increasingly useful and more addictive. While visiting a new place, I used to take pictures with my phone and would often get distracted just because I held the phone in my hands.

I got into photography in 2020 and bought a Nikon DSLR. It is harder to use than my smartphone’s camera, but when I get out with my dedicated camera to take photos I’m never tempted to check the news or browse the web: I can fully focus on the pictures.

Appliance lifespan

According to this article from Wirecutter one of the reasons for modern appliances’ reduced durability is their increased complexity. When your fridge is also a freezer, an ice cube maker, and has a complex embedded computer with a screen it’s more likely to break. More complexity means reduced durability.

My microwave has 20 buttons, about half of them are “preset” cooking settings that I never use. On a day-to-day basis I use about 4 buttons and ignore all the others. There are only two things I care about with a microwave: time and power. My ideal microwave would only have two dials: one to set the timer and the other to control the power level. The nice thing about using dials is that they are both an input and an output. On my button-based microwave I have to press the power level button to know what its power level is set at; with a dial I just need to take a look: no interaction needed.

Simpler single-use appliances work better than the ones that do everything.

Simple bicyles

Most contemporary bicycles have multiple gears. Some specialty bikes only have a single speed or even a fixed gear. They are mechanically simpler, lighter, and more effective at transferring the force from the legs into the wheel. I own two bikes: a single speed bike and a fixed gear; I can’t imagine ever going back to a multi-gear bicycle.

The obvious downside is that single speed bikes aren’t adaptable; you can’t change the gear up or down when going up a slope or if there’s room to accelerate.

While these simpler bikes require more physical effort to operate, I see this as an advantage. I have to be more attentive and anticipate, and my body works harder. Based on the road conditions I adapt the pace; if I am about to go uphill, I pick up speed to build momentum; if I am about to go downhill, I slow down as much as possible before going down and picking up speed.

When I ride my fixie my mind doesn’t wander; the experience is more flow-like than riding a “full fat” bicycle. The ride may be more mentally and physically taxing, but it is also more enjoyable. Removing the gears on bicycles made them better.

Health and diet

For one’s health, it’s better to stop smoking, drinking alcohol, or overeating than to exercise or take drugs and supplements. Taking out the bad stuff will yield better results.

GLP-1 drugs work because they cut off cravings, not because they somehow “melt fat” or “burn calories”. If you want to lose weight, not eating is the most effective method—exercising, sweating, and generally burning calories will never be as effective as not ingesting calories in the first place.

There are two types of dieting advice: what we should eat and what we shouldn’t eat; the second kind is the better advice. We aren’t sure about what’s good for us in general, but we have a pretty good idea of what’s bad for us. There are well-accepted lists of foods known to be detrimental to one’s health:

We also have food that’s more controversial:

Removing everything listed here is not practical, but removing everything from the first list will clearly benefit one’s health. Eliminating everything from the first list and moderating items from the second list is probably the best strategy.

As much as people want to believe that some ingredients are superfood, there isn’t anything that’s as beneficial for health as avoiding junk food is.

Subtraction: The essential mental model

Modern wisdom is all about accumulation; the more we have the better. This isn’t always the case; we can often improve and be happier by removing the things that no longer serve us or hurt us.

Sleep better and be healthier by removing junk food and the news.

Get a simpler bikes, and enjoy the ride.

Get single-use devices and appliances.

Use simpler software.

Via negativa: from the divine to the mundane, removal is how we add.