Learn Faster with ParetoGPT

In the early 1900s, Italian economist Wilfredo Pareto noted that 80% of Italian land was owned by 20% of the population. While this may be of very little use to you today (although I admittedly have zero understanding of how often you deal with Italian land holders), this finding has an odd way of reverberating through much of life. 

Broken down, the Pareto Principle dictates that roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes. In a workplace, it is estimated that 80% of accidents originate from only 20% of the hazards (like Dan, in marketing). In computing, Microsoft found fixing the worst 20% of the bugs in a system eliminated 80% of the complaints. In healthcare, it is estimated that 80% of the cost is being incurred by 20% of the population (probably Dan again). What’s the benefit of this? It can be quite relieving to know when you’re looking at a massive problem, solving the worst 20% of it will get you most of the way there.

This principle is also widely touted in learning circles. For example, when learning a language, it is noted that by learning the most-critical 20% of a language, you can achieve “good enough” status and carry on a conversation (or put another way, you’d have about 80% proficiency). For anybody who’s witnessed a young child learn to read, it’s remarkable what learning only 100 high frequency words can do. 

Once we’re aware of this, we can approach learning anything a little differently. Maybe you don’t need to know 100% of a thing, you only need to know the most critical 20% of it to get “good enough.” With any task, going from 0%-80% is relatively straight-forward, but a jump from say 90%-94% might take a further 5 years. Do we need to be 94% proficient at the thing? Maybe, but probably not for most things.

So the challenge becomes: how do we identify the most critical 20% that will get us to 80% proficiency in any given task? Enter ParetoGPT. Typically, this step would be no small thing. You’d have to break down the skill into component parts then rank the parts by importance using research and analysis. We can utilize ChatGPT to do both of these things, and while it may not be perfect, what it gets wrong would probably come down to a matter of personal preference.

CREATING PARETOGPT

For this GPT, we’ll upload a document that explains the Pareto Principle as clearly as possible. This is probably unnecessary as the LLM has been trained on what it is, but sometimes it’s helpful to narrow the focus down a bit. 

The key to this one is not unlike many others: we want things to progress in steps. ChatGPT works better one task at a time, so we don’t want to dilute the responses by making it do too much. 

Because there’s rarely a universally agreed-upon list of tasks for a given skill ranked by importance, there will be an element of allowing ChatGPT some freedom to be creative. Will it work out? Only one way to find out.

INSTRUCTIONS

TESTING PARETOGPT

To test this one, I added a thing that I already know how to do so we can see if I agree or think it’s sending hapless users on a wild goose chase. I know how to make WordPress websites from scratch, so let’s start with that.

Right off the bat I noticed one potential issue, and that is that it rightfully assumes the person has absolutely zero knowledge about the topic. Somebody who wants to learn how to build their own WordPress website and somebody who wants the same but already understands a few scripting languages (like HTML/CSS) will have two very different journeys.

That’s ok though, we’re not actually trying to learn this, we’re pressure testing for problems. 

The key factors it identified were:

1. Understanding WordPress Fundamentals 
2. PHP Programming
3. HTML & CSS
4. Javascript
5. Theme development standards
6. Responsive Design
7. WordPress APIs
8. Debugging

Now, how two different WordPress developers will rank that list according to importance will differ. If I had to point out to a beginner what they need to absolutely begin, I’d say WordPress fundamentals, PHP fundamentals, HTML/CSS, and responsive design (which were ranked 1, 2, 3, and 6 by our GPT). Javascript, APIs, and debugging are good to know, but to get rolling, you’ll need the others first. Again, it’s fairly impressive that those ranked lower at 4, 7, and 8. 

So while I can’t say it doesn’t agree with me completely, in no way am I a definite authority, and very few people would agree with me either. I’d say this output is more than useful and workable.

What’s great is we can keep using the Pareto Principle for each step. So if we need to know what WordPress fundamentals are most important, we can run that through ParetoGPT and get the most critical 20% of those, then rinse and repeat as many times as we need. 

ALTERNATE USES

This GPT focuses on efficient learning and skill acquisition, suggesting ways to identify and prioritize the most impactful components of a skill or task for quicker mastery. We could make the GPT more specific to the following realms:

Personal Finance Optimizer

A GPT designed to apply the 80/20 rule to personal finance management, identifying the 20% of financial habits and decisions that will lead to 80% of an individual’s financial improvement. This could include advice on budgeting, investing, saving, and spending habits that have the most significant impact on financial health.

Career Development Planner

A GPT designed to help professionals identify the most crucial 20% of skills and knowledge areas in their field that will advance their careers the most. It breaks down various career paths into core competencies, highlights the critical skills for advancement, and provides a focused learning path to achieve significant career growth efficiently.

Health and Fitness Guide

This GPT would apply the Pareto Principle to health and fitness, helping users to identify the 20% of diet and exercise strategies that will contribute to 80% of their fitness and health improvement. It could offer personalized advice on the most effective workouts and nutritional changes based on individual goals, such as weight loss, muscle gain, or improved endurance.