Adding is favoured over subtracting in problem solving
Additive solutions are fundamentally easier than subtractive ones.<p>If removing something, you run into the problem of chesterton's fence: if you don't completely understand why it was there in the first place, you could potentially be messing something up which you do not anticipate. If you have n elements, finding a subtractive solution requires understanding how all of them interact with eachother, which scales like O(n^2). On the other hand an additive solution only requires you to understand your new element and how it affects the system, which scales O(n).<p>Consider the relative difficulty of removing versus placing a jenga block.<p>On top of this, think about how complex systems tend to be formed. Typically multiple people each with different needs make proposals and at the end you have a consensus which is, if not ideal, at least acceptable to everyone. Theoretically, if there was unnecessary and harmful stuff in there, either someone would have complained and already gotten it removed or there is some interest group that has a good reason for keeping it there. An addition, on the other hand, may have never been considered the first time around, and can be carefully tailored to minimally influence the status quo beyond the desired change.