| In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing |  | Author: Matthew E. May
Publisher: Crown Business
Category: eBooks
In Stock
Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 41,137
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.35
Publication Date: May 9, 2009
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Product Description
What made the Sopranos finale one of the most-talked-about events in television history?
Why is sudoku so addictive and the iPhone so darn irresistible?
What do Jackson Pollock and Lance Armstrong have in common with theoretical physicists and Buddhist monks?
Elegance.
In this thought-provoking exploration of why certain events, products, and people capture our attention and imaginations, Matthew E. May examines the elusive element behind so many innovative breakthroughs in fields ranging from physics and marketing to design and popular culture. Combining unusual simplicity and surprising power, elegance is characterized by four key elements—seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability. In a compelling, story-driven narrative that sheds light on the need for elegance in design, engineering, art, urban planning, sports, and work, May offers surprising evidence that what’s “not there” often trumps what is.
In the bestselling tradition of The Tipping Point, Made to Stick, and The Black Swan, In Pursuit of Elegance will change the way you think about the world.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
 This is the worst book ever. August 20, 2010
D. Zeidman
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is terrible. I only bought it because I was required to for school. It makes no sense. May tries to compare a bunch of things that do not relate to each other by using the word "elegance" out of context. Do not read this unless you have to.
 A Must Have for Consumer Products Industry April 5, 2010
COREY CANFIELD (Milwaukee, WI USA)
I have not been able to put this book down. The stories bring to life the insights that make the methodologies so compeling. It will certainly help you "see the forest for the trees" so to speak. I am plan on making this book a permanenet placement in my library, and if you are in the consumer products industry, I suggest you do the same. There is no better way to break through the clutter than by applying the principles of elegance: seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability.
Getting more by saying less February 28, 2010
Michael P. Maslanka (dallas, texas United States)
I try discrimination cases to juries. May's insights support a key trial idea: juries decide on emotions, not facts. Give them a few key facts and they will extrapolate what they think occured;give them too many,they shut down.Our job:fight the helpful facts. Useful insight in much of our lives. Excellent discussion of how our mind's bias toward pattern recognition and to action(great for our survival 30,000 years ago), now impedes our ability to function effectively (ie to stop and think, not to plow on and just do). A worthwhile book, weighing in at an elegant 193 pages.
Elegant advice! January 7, 2010
Michael Satterwhite (Flagstaff, AZ)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Matthew May has given us one of the best business and design books in my experience. He truly delivers an elegant book on what good design and concepts leave missing. His premise is intriguing and thought provoking. I highly recommend this book to anyone responsible for design and strategic thinking no matter whether the result of your effort is process or product. In my book Matthew May is in a top thinkers ranking along with Chip and Dan Heath.
Everyone is likely to take away something different from this book November 8, 2009
Paula L. Craig (Falls Church, VA United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have an interest in urban design. The discussion of the Monderman intersection and why it works so well in handling traffic and preventing accidents is worth the price of the book all by itself. (This is a roundabout-style intersection paved with a textured surface, lacking a traffic light.) Since I read this book, I can hardly pass an intersection without thinking how much better it would work as a Monderman intersection, and how easy and cheap the conversion would be. Maybe you're not interested in traffic flow, but May puts in enough off-the-wall examples to get nearly anyone thinking. Recommended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
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