Productivity Definition and 15 Threads

This Nature paper that attempts to quantify diminishing returns from scientific research across a wide range of fields is getting a fair amount of press. My initial take was just a 'low hanging fruit' argument where all the 'easy' discoveries have been made. The authors argue against that...

We know that IQ and many other traits related to success is normally distributed. But for some reason, wealth is connected to the Pareto distribution. Is there a relation between the two?

Hi, possibly a weird question, I am looking for advice or suggestions. Currently I am going through the prealgebra art of problem solving book as I’d like to start using that series of books and may as well start with the basics to get a thorough understanding (I understand algebra and basic...

In other words, is there some correlation between high intelligence and productivity? Is it related to creativity? I don't think I need to go into examples of famous people like Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Von Neumann, Gauss, Goethe, Aristotle/Plato, and the list goes on. One unifying theme that is...

While I can often come up with ideas pretty quickly, I have trouble keeping myself focussed at tasks that just 'have to be done'. I'm talking for example about doing calculations for which you already know what the result must be or for which you don't expect there will be anything 'cool' about...

I think it would be of value to get people's estimates out there. What would you say is the productivity when working at home versus at a dedicated work setting? (For data: my home is in a suburb. There are 0..2 infants/ toddlers present and 1..3 other adults present. We have a nice back...

I found on the internet that there are 2 main multifactor productivity measures: 1) total output / (labour + capital + intermediate inputs) 2) value added / (labour + capital) , where value added = total output - intermediate inputsThis two measures make sense but my teacher said that...

is there "cheap" / high productivity way to measure quality of hand tools? I see online a common complaint that widely available tools have become low quality due to offshore outsourcing, cost cutting, corrupt/lying mislabeling of alloys used etc. Conversely, tools of "proven" brands that have...

I have to wonder and thought maybe someone has done a study. Given the popularity of political radio [right, and what little there is of left - NPR?] and given that people are mostly listening to this on the job, I have to wonder how much this might be affecting productivity and employee...

please answer simple and descriptively

Problem involving productivity and area for planting Homework Statement Napier Grass has a productivity of about 40 tons of dry mass per hectare per year, which is, for example, at least four times greater than the productivity of eucalyptus wood. Besides that, it has a 6-month production...

is there a way to manage our work and save our time?

I'm looking for some information regarding whether there is any evidence to support the widely held view that intellectual productivity peaks of an individual rises from their late teens, peaks in their 20s and starts to decline in their 30s. However, I'm not sure that search terms to use when...

Some mathematicians note that their intellectual powers (at least where mathematics is concerned) seem to diminish with age, for instance Hardy. Was this griping a mere excuse for their lack of talent to begin with? Other prodigies appeared to have retained their mathematical fecundity into...

is there any reason that there is a great capacity for high productivity in the water in estuaries?