I've been thinking a lot lately about the Law of Diminishing Return. Not in the economical sense. For those who need a refresher in the law, Jack Aaronson on clickz.com gives this definition, which of all the definitions, I think he hit it head on best: "The Law of Diminishing Returns (anticipated by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and implied by Thomas Malthus in 1798) states that increasing one variable of an equation while keeping the rest of the variables constant will eventually yield a result opposite the intended purpose of the variable change. In plain English, it simply means sometimes, you can push an idea too far."
I am quite experienced in the practice of pushing an idea too far. Overstaying my welcome is another skill I have, right up there with not knowing when to shut-up. In their way, they are all examples of the Law of Diminishing Returns outside the scope of economics.
The US involvement in Iraq is a political example of the Law. At first, many people were more or less happy we were there. Then after it just wouldn't end and kept getting worse, nearly everybody has grown unhappy. You could say that the 2006 elections were the Law of Diminishing Return in action: people voted their dismay over Iraq. For that mattter, they voted their irritation with the Evenagelicals' influence during the last six years of W's presidency; the Law of Diminishing Return can bite you in the ass if you push your idea too far. Remember Terry Schiavo? The voters did.
On a personal level, here’s how the Law of Diminishing Return works in my social life: I go to a party. I have a drink. My tongue is loosened just enough. I strike up a conversation. The person I’m talking to is laughing. Maybe S/he think that I’m actually charming. I have another drink. “Oh dear, she’s not so charming, after all,” the other person thinks. The wine has loosed up my tongue, my brain, and my ego. Maybe I’m bragging about something useless. Maybe I am hogging the conversation. S/he is bored. S/he see a wadded up napkin on the floor across the room. “Excuse me,” S/he says. “I need to do something.” S/he leaves me for the wadded up napkin, throwing it in the trash. S/he would rather do house work (and it’s not their house) than talk to me. Hence, Law of Diminishing Return.
As I reflect back on my Thanksgiving Holiday, I naturally recite the things I’m grateful for. Toes. Fingers. Breath. Moderately good health. Gilmore Girls. 2005 Acacia Chardonnay. Aspirin. Finally, though, I am grateful for those who stick around even when the Law of Diminishing Return on knowing me kicks in.
