Less is More

The phrase ” Less is more” was coined by the poet Robert Browning over a hundred and fifty years ago, but it is usually attributed to the architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe  who used it to convey the idea that simplicity and clarity are the hallmarks of good design. Recently , however, I came across another situation in which this seemingly contradictory statement makes perfect sense.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen found that those who exercised for thirty minutes daily lost more weight than those who exercised for sixty minutes every day. On the face of it , this doesn’t make sense since those who exercised more would be expected to shed weight faster. This is the explanation: Those who exercised for sixty minutes were so tired that they did not do much else the rest of the day. They just sat around the house and, because of their increased appetite, wound up eating more. On the other hand, those who had exercised for only thirty minutes were not as tired, were more active the rest of the day and also ate less. Ergo, they lost more weight.

Less is more. Makes sense , doesn’t it ?