Think back to the last time you overindulged in a huge, delicious dessert. It’s likely that the first bite was divine, but perhaps ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Prodest, inquit, mihi eo esse animo. Propter nos enim illam, non propter eam nosmet ipsos diligimus. Quod non faceret, si in voluptate summum bonum poneret. Quam tu ponis in verbis, ego positam in re putabam. Hoc loco tenere se Triarius non potuit. Ille enim occurrentia nescio quae comminiscebatur; Summus dolor plures dies manere non potest? Cum autem in quo sapienter dicimus, id a primo rectissime dicitur.
Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Ait enim se, si uratur, Quam hoc suave! dicturum. Ergo illi intellegunt quid Epicurus dicat, ego non intellego? Duo enim genera quae erant, fecit tria.
Sin aliud quid voles, postea. Nam si propter voluptatem, quae est ista laus, quae possit e macello peti? Hoc positum in Phaedro a Platone probavit Epicurus sensitque in omni disputatione id fieri oportere. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Hoc est vim afferre, Torquate, sensibus, extorquere ex animis cognitiones verborum, quibus inbuti sumus. Tu enim ista lenius, hic Stoicorum more nos vexat. Sic vester sapiens magno aliquo emolumento commotus cicuta, si opus erit, dimicabit.
- Find the optimal peak.
Know that ‘more of a good thing is not always better’ ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Hoc est dicere: Non reprehenderem asotos, si non essent asoti. Videamus animi partes, quarum est conspectus illustrior; Certe nihil nisi quod possit ipsum propter se iure laudari. Item de contrariis, a quibus ad genera formasque generum venerunt. Quid enim possumus hoc agere divinius? Negat esse eam, inquit, propter se expetendam. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Quid nunc honeste dicit? Quis est tam dissimile homini. Sed mehercule pergrata mihi oratio tua.
Sed quia studebat laudi et dignitati, multum in virtute processerat. Quem Tiberina descensio festo illo die tanto gaudio affecit, quanto L. Quid, cum volumus nomina eorum, qui quid gesserint, nota nobis esse, parentes, patriam, multa praeterea minime necessaria? Huius ego nunc auctoritatem sequens idem faciam.
Quare obscurentur etiam haec, quae secundum naturam esse dicimus, in vita beata; Utrum igitur tibi litteram videor an totas paginas commovere? Hic ego: Pomponius quidem, inquam, noster iocari videtur, et fortasse suo iure. In motu et in statu corporis nihil inest, quod animadvertendum esse ipsa natura iudicet? Iam doloris medicamenta illa Epicurea tamquam de narthecio proment: Si gravis, brevis; Quae cum essent dicta, discessimus. Dic in quovis conventu te omnia facere, ne doleas. Tu autem negas fortem esse quemquam posse, qui dolorem malum putet. Nihil enim iam habes, quod ad corpus referas;
The Law of Diminishing Returns is based on a number of assumptions that are not always relevant to real-world situations. These include:
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No change in technology
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A short period of impact
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Consistent, homogeneous units
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Measurement of product using tangible units.
Each of these assumptions might be challenged in the real world. Technology is always progressing, the units of input are likely going to vary (hiring one person compared to another person will have different impacts) and even the questions of measurement will be more complex beyond the narrow assessment of weight or financial value.
It relies on a static, predictable system which is rarely true or at least has clear limitations when applied to the complexity of reality.
Too Many Cooks.
A useful example to explain this model is to consider a small food truck that sells doughnuts. If that truck has one cook, they might be able to produce 20 doughnuts every hour. Adding one more cook might increase that output to 40 doughnuts every hour. However, adding a third cook might only allow them to produce 45 doughnuts every hour because of the limited space and resources in the truck, and adding a fourth cook might not add any returns at all.
d
The concept of Diminishing Returns has a rich and long history, being traced back to economists such as Adam Smith, Jacques Turgot, and Thomas Mathus. The earliest explicit references to this model were in relation to farming outputs and can be attributed to Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo.
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