The point of diminishing returns, Pareto law, power law, and 80/20 law - different names for the same concept: most of the results are produced by the minority of the effort. This is very hard to accept for type A personalities (perfectionists) such as myself, as I can spend countless hours on projects that matter to me. The last finishing touch here, a bit of polish there—potentially, no one will notice.
As elaborated in the Barbell strategy of research, sometimes making a big bet helps diversify your research portfolio. Although the barbell is about risk, whereas Pareto preaches about effort, they touch the same nerve: resource allocation is key.
In the science of innovation, researchers argue about the adjacent possible, i.e., combining tidbits of existing knowledge into something new. This requires first becoming an expert in a field, then extending the state-of-the-art one piece at a time. Becoming an expert is time-consuming, but it uncovers a handful of low-hanging fruits. Presumably, these increments will advance the field though almost certainly they will remain that, i.e., increments. These are the safe bets that constitute the 80 in the Pareto law.
Interpreting Pareto's law in this one-dimensional framework would let us lean back and acknowledge that we have found the Holy Grail of reasonably constant output, the sweet spot. There is also advice in exercise science that suggests going neither too hard nor too easy.
The catch is that being in the same regime can be dull. If our boredom causes those low-hanging fruits to rot on the tree, then what is the benefit? This is one of the reasons why I wrote about the Barbell strategy of research since I find it motivating to follow up on high-risk bets.
Does this mean that Pareto's law contradicts the barbell strategy? I think they do not, but the barbell extends the horizon where to apply Pareto's law:
The original dimension preaches about how to work on a project, whereas the second (barbell) dimension answers what to work on.
Combining the two principles suggests a hierarchical approach to research: Pareto's law defines a general attitude, ensuring that we can reap the low-hanging fruits, whereas the barbell provides a diversity of bananas, pineapples, and raspberries (not the Pi).
Who would eat constantly raspberries after removing all the seeds?