Statistics
Pareto Distribution
A power law probability distribution describing the pattern where a small fraction of causes produces a large fraction of effects—the famous '80/20 rule' where 20% of inputs produce 80% of outputs.
Biological Context
Pareto distributions appear in wealth, city sizes, species abundance, and many biological phenomena. They emerge from multiplicative processes where initial advantages compound. Understanding Pareto dynamics is crucial because averages are unrepresentative and outliers dominate.