Consider the amount of time it takes to prepare a meal for many guests, not counting actual cooking time. Could two people do this in half the time of one? They probably could, in fact it might take less than half the time if each one specializes. Can 3 do it in 1/3 the time, 4 in 1/4, 5 in 1/5? At some point the answer will certainly be no. Why can't 5 people prepare the food in 1/5 the time of 1 person? Because, in the short run, there are some fixed factors.

   You can keep inviting friends to help, but your kitchen stays the same size and the number of knives, cutting boards, graters, pots and pans and so forth stay the same. You end up with more people sharing the same equipment. Output will still go up, 5 can probably do it faster than 4, but probably nothing like 5 times faster than 1. This is the Law of Diminishing Returns.

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