The widely accepted five-stages-of-grief model is not supported by scientific evidence, is often misapplied to the bereaved, and is contradicted by a significant body of research.
The default human response to adversity and trauma is resilience; a majority of individuals function normally after a period of short-term distress, with only a small minority (at most 10%) experiencing chronic suffering.
Humans have a pervasive cognitive bias toward solving problems by adding elements rather than subtracting them, a tendency that often leads to overly complex and less effective solutions.
Popular psychological interventions like trigger warnings are often ineffective or even counterproductive, lacking scientific support for their purported benefits and potentially increasing anxiety.
An inability to flexibly adjust one's emotional responses to fit different situations is a stronger predictor of developing PTSD than the intensity of the initial emotional reaction.
1978
Cites Bruce Springsteen's process for his album 'Darkness on the Edge of Town,' where he wrote over 50 songs but subtracted down to 10, as an example of creative subtraction yielding commercial success for others (Patti Smith, The Pointer Sisters).
Post-1989
References the tearing down of San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway after the 1989 earthquake, which led to positive urban renewal with increased housing and jobs, to illustrate the benefits of subtraction in city planning.
Post-9/11 (2001-2002)
Discusses the psychological aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, noting that while initial PTSD rates were high (up to 20-30% for those nearby), they returned to near-normal levels within six months, supporting his thesis on human resilience.
2018
Highlights a meta-analysis in Clinical Psychology Review as key evidence for the 'resilience trajectory,' which finds that at most 10% of people suffer chronic psychological effects from trauma.
Post-2020
Points to global suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, which remained stable or declined, to counter widespread predictions of a mental health catastrophe and reinforce his arguments about resilience.
2021
Cites a study in the journal Nature by Leidy Klotz as a central piece of evidence for the human cognitive bias towards addition over subtraction.
▶The Subtraction BlindspotMay 2026
Vedantam argues that humans have a strong cognitive bias towards adding elements rather than subtracting them when trying to improve something. He cites multiple experiments by Leidy Klotz showing this tendency in tasks ranging from making a grid symmetrical to improving an essay, demonstrating a default mode of thinking that overlooks the power of simplification.
This cognitive default towards addition creates opportunities for disruptive innovation and efficiency gains for analysts and investors who can identify and favor companies that consciously practice subtraction to simplify products, processes, and strategies.
▶The Myth of Prescribed GriefMay 2026
Vedantam systematically dismantles popular but scientifically unsupported concepts of grief, particularly Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's five-stage model. He presents evidence that the model was misapplied, is not supported by research, and that the majority of bereaved individuals exhibit resilience and even positive emotions like laughter, which correlates with better long-term outcomes.
This highlights the risk of relying on popular psychology for decision-making; business or policy strategies based on empirically validated models of human behavior are more likely to succeed than those based on pervasive cultural myths.
▶The Reality of Human ResilienceMay 2026
Contrary to narratives of widespread, lasting trauma, Vedantam asserts that the 'resilience trajectory' is the most common human response to adversity. He cites evidence showing that PTSD rates in New York City returned to normal within six months of 9/11 and that at most 10% of people experience chronic suffering after a major loss, suggesting humans are psychologically hardier than often portrayed.
Analysts may systematically overestimate the long-term economic and social disruption from crises, as societal-level psychological recovery is often faster and more robust than media narratives suggest, leading to faster-than-expected market and labor recoveries.
▶The Neuroscience of AcquisitionMay 2026
Vedantam explains the biological drive behind accumulation, linking the act of acquiring things to the brain's reward pathway, the same neurochemical system activated by addictive drugs like cocaine. This neurological underpinning helps explain both the bias towards additive solutions and the seemingly irrational behavior of collecting useless items, as observed in studies by Stephanie Preston.
Understanding this deep-seated neurological drive is crucial for consumer behavior analysis, as it suggests that appeals to minimalism or decluttering must overcome a powerful, innate biological urge, making products and services that facilitate 'smart' acquisition more viable than those demanding pure reduction.