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TBM 437: Tokens, Hours, Points, and Other Curious Proxies

John Cutler · 17 Aug 2026

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Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    "Return on tokens" has the same measurement problems as hours and capacity: it still hinges on a theory of value.

    Their wordsAI introduces some genuinely new twists, but in the end, it still hinges on a theory of value.

  2. Our reading

    The relationship between time spent and outcomes is non-linear.

    Their wordsThe relationship between time and outcomes is non-linear. 2x-ing where you spend time doesn’t 2x the outcomes.

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