In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing
About this audiobook
What made The Sopranos finale one of the most talked about events in television history? Why is Sudoku so addictive and the iPhone so darned irresistible? What do Jackson Pollock and Lance Armstrong have in common with theoretical physicists and Buddhist monks? The answer is elegance.
Matthew May explores why certain events, products, and people capture our imaginations and our loyalty. Defining elegance as the elusive combination of unusual simplicity and surprising power, he pinpoints the four key elements that characterize it—seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability—illustrating why what’s “not there” often matters more than what is. He also sheds light on the need for elegance in design, engineering, physics, art, urban planning, sports, and work.
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About the author
Matthew E. May, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, is the author of the critically acclaimed Elegant Solution. A popular speaker, he lectures to corporations, governments, and universities around the world on ingenuity and innovation. He spent nearly a decade advising Toyota, and his articles and profiles have appeared in USA Today, Strategy & Business, the Wall Street Journal, and on CNN and National Public Radio. He lives in Lake Sherwood, California.
Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. Named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013 and the recipient of several Earphones Awards, he has narrated over 250 audiobooks.
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design tool. Formerly, he was an adviser to the Motorola business unit of Google and chief evangelist of Apple. He is also the author of APE, What the Plus!, Enchantment, and other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.
