Tim Harford considers ‘addition by subtraction’ the idea that removing items is a neglected way of improving things. Anyone who has sent a paper for comments with the note that ‘it’s already too long, so suggestions on what to excise are very welcome’ will know that the vast majority of replies nevertheless suggest additions rather than deletions.
Weekly links April 9: Indian education policy, rubber banding as anti-poverty strategy, problems with complicated PAPs, publishing tips, and more…
· BU’s The Brink on Mario Kart as an analogy for what social and economic programs need to do “the idea is a lot like the way that Mario Kart gives players falling behind in the race the best power-ups, designed to bump them towards the front of the pack and keep them in the race. Meanwhile, faster players in the front don’t get these same boosts, and instead typically get weaker powers, such as banana peels to trip up a racer behind them or an ink splat to disrupt the other players’ screens. This boosting principle is called “rubber banding,” and it’s what keeps the game fun and interesting, Bell says, since there is always a chance for you to get ahead. “And that’s exactly what we want to do in development,” he says. “And it is really, really difficult to do.””