It's funny because I got this idea of 'reduction' from preparing sauces for food. Like how a sauce is boiled or simmered until it reaches its desired consistency and flavor.

Fair lol, I would say food can be art too, like look at Haute cuisine and its presentation

I specced for science/math and art/writing and somehow it works this way in both. An iterative architecture process is also important (build simple/achievable things first, then add on to them in a way that gets you to what you're actually trying to make).