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Interesting argument, and from my experience seems to hold true. The only counterexample I can think of is the Taj Mahal: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=10189-1

This is why I always enjoyed getting larger sets, especially technic sets, as they always had rare pieces that were extremely useful for a specific function. For example, the shifter gate piece in the original supercar set: http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/6543

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I always thought very specific pieces like that weren't really in the spirit of Lego.

I don't know. I think a good selection of different pieces vastly expands your options. Some of the coolest models are the ones that use weird pieces in clever ways--my favorite example was an Audi R8 that used white rope pieces (very specialized) for the front LED lights.

Taj Mahal doesn't seem like a strong counter-example, in that although it seems to have many non-standard lego pieces, it still has a high pieces per type value (or as the author described it, few types per piece).

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