The value of work is information in motion.

01

A model for the work underneath the work

The claim is simple: time is not equally valuable when different amounts of information pass through it.

Every useful activity spends energy over time. But the output is not determined by effort alone. A physical movement can be precise or wasteful; a thought can repeat a protocol or change the shape of a system. Information is the difference: it reduces entropy, concentrates effort, and turns a finite hour into something rarer.

This is the intuition behind the J-I-T model. It treats money or economic value as the visible output of three convertible flows: a base of energy, a duration of work, and the information carried by that work. The model does not pretend to price a person or explain an entire market. It is a lens for seeing why two people can spend the same eight hours and leave behind radically different amounts of leverage.

The core equation

A = J × [(T_p × I_p) + (T_i × I_i)]

Value is energy multiplied by physical time made precise and intellectual time made rare.

01

Energy and money

Wealth requires a force or transformation of energy, directly or indirectly. J is the system's raw capacity to act.

02

Time is finite

The same finite resource can be deployed as T_p, physical execution, or T_i, reflection and cognitive load.

03

Information dilates time

Intellectual time is not merely chronological. Acquiring and processing data can magnify what a short interval is able to do.

04

Information is a catalyst

I reduces wasted motion and multiplies the intrinsic value of energy and time. It is the model's entropy-reducing operator.

02

Four kinds of work

Change the nature of time, then change the density of information inside it.

more intellectual time up

Q3

Intellectual flow

J × T_i

Secretary, data entry, telesales. Cognitive work on standardised, automatable protocols.

Q4

High-value intellectual

J × (T_i × I_i)

Strategy, market finance, political direction, fund management, arbitrage. Rare information with systemic impact.

Q1

Pure physical

J × T_p

Handling, construction, conventional agriculture, maintenance, convenience cooking. Linear force with little information.

Q2

Qualified physical

J × (T_p × I_p)

Surgery, elite sport, craft, lutherie, high-precision mechanics. A precise gesture carries a large memory of information.

more information injected

The horizontal axis is information injected into the work. The vertical axis is the kind of time mobilised. The model predicts a floor where time stays simple, and leverage where information becomes rare.

03

Move the model

The visualizer keeps the original J-I-T inputs, then makes the dominant quadrant and the trade-off visible.

Inputs

Start with the workbook's baseline: J = 100, eight hours of physical and intellectual time, and no information multiplier.

Jbase energy100 T_pphysical time, hours8 I_pphysical know-how1 T_iintellectual time, hours8 I_istrategic information1 𝓘_ccreative insight, optional1

𝓘_c is the optional Chiddush multiplier added by the original visualizer. It is not part of the core PDF equation; it models the extra lift of an original transformation.

Live outputQ1, Q3 tie

1,600A, relative value units

100 × [(8 × 1) + (8 × 1 × 1)]

Q1 pure physical

800

Q2 qualified physical

800

Q3 intellectual flow

800

Q4 high-value intellectual

800

At the baseline, the four simplified quadrants begin at the same value. Add information and the work moves right: the same energy and time carry more leverage.

04

Information can become time

The key move is algebraic: information injected into energy can replace physical effort.

The model's most useful equivalence is not that physical and intellectual work are identical. It is that information can move a system between them. If a technique makes a gesture ten times more precise, the system can reach the same output with a tenth of the physical time. The saved time is not empty: it becomes capacity for judgement, strategy, or a different kind of work.

(J × I) × T_p = J × (T_p × I) = J × T_i

Injecting information into physical energy is a way of transforming physical time into intellectual time.

same target valueRequired physical time falls as information rises

The curve is the workbook's trade-off: at J = 100, reaching A = 5,000 requires 50 hours at I = 1, but only 1 hour at I = 50.

05

The Jevons turn

Efficiency does not always reduce demand. Sometimes it makes the resource more usable, and demand expands.

In 1865, William Stanley Jevons described a counter-intuitive pattern: improvements that made coal more efficient did not simply reduce coal use. They widened the field of applications and multiplied total consumption. The same shape appears in knowledge. When AI makes standard information almost free, the demand for information does not disappear. It rushes toward the next bottleneck: the ability to select, transform, and see something others do not.

relative scaleUnit cost down, total demand up

unit costtotal demand

Before, information costly

Access requires time and money.
Knowledge is a durable competitive advantage.
Experts are paid for holding knowledge.
Scarcity protects Q1 and Q3.

After, information nearly free

Information is instantly available to everyone.
Only original insight remains durable.
Experts are paid for the ability to transform.
Value migrates toward Q2 and Q4.

06

From wheat to bread

A concrete image for the same idea: raw energy becomes useful through transformation.

In the visualizer's original metaphor, wheat does not fully nourish a person until it has been transformed into bread. The grain is not lacking energy. It is lacking a process: milling, kneading, waiting, and knowing when the transformation is complete. That process is information acting on energy over time.

01

Wheat

J × T_p

Raw energy
the grain eaten whole

→

02

Mill

+ I_p

Know-how
reduce entropy

→

03

Knead and rise

+ T_i

Reflection
let the process work

→

04

Bread

J × T_i × I_i × 𝓘_c

Insight / Chiddush
transformed value

07

Where the bottleneck goes

The conclusion is a prediction, not a moral ranking of people or jobs.

In a post-industrial, highly automated economy, the cost of standardised information tends toward zero. That mechanically depreciates work whose advantage was access to a repeatable protocol. It does not mean that physical or administrative work disappears, or that it is less human. It means the market's relative reward increasingly concentrates around rare coefficients of information: highly trained physical precision, systemic judgement, original synthesis, and the capacity to turn knowledge into a new form.

The J-I-T model therefore ends with a practical question: what information does this hour carry that another hour cannot?

The scarce resource is not time by itself. It is the quality of transformation that time makes possible.

08

Reference notebook

The source folder can go away. The model's definitions, scenarios, and working tables stay here.

Source files and model assumptions

Synthese_Theorique_Energie_Temps_Information.pdfThree-page theory note: four postulates, the global equation, four quadrants, convergence, and the conclusion about standardised information in the AI era.
Modele_JIT_Energie_Information_Temps.xlsxFour sheets: Global Equation, Convergence, Four Quadrants, and Dashboard.
web_visualizer, style.css, app.jsOriginal interactive visualizer, including the optional insight / Chiddush multiplier, the Jevons section, the wheat-to-bread metaphor, and visual analyses.

Definitions carried over from the dashboard

Variable	Meaning	Unit	Role
A	Money / total value	EUR	System output
J	Base energy	Joules	Raw driving force
T_p	Physical time	Hours	Material execution duration
T_i	Intellectual time	Hours	Cognitive-load duration
I_p	Physical information	Index ≥ 1	Density of physical know-how
I_i	Intellectual information	Index ≥ 1	Complexity / rarity

Dashboard baseline: J = 100, T p = 8h, I p = 1, T i = 8h, I i = 1. The workbook calculates the physical component as T p times I p, the intellectual component as T i times I i, and A as J times both components added together.

Workbook scenarios, 8-hour comparison

Scenario	J	T_p	I_p	T_i	I_i	Value A	Category
Unskilled worker	100	8	1	0	0	800	Q1
Expert craftsperson	100	8	10	0	0	8,000	Q2
Surgeon	100	6	25	2	5	16,000	Q2 + Q4
Secretary	100	0	0	8	1	800	Q3
Financial analyst	100	0	0	8	15	12,000	Q4
Fortune 500 CEO	100	0	0	8	50	40,000	Q4
Algorithmic trader	100	0	0	4	100	40,000	Q4
Senior AI developer	100	1	2	7	20	14,200	Q2 + Q4

Workbook reference tables, equation, convergence, quadrants

Equation A by I i, J = 100, T p = 8, I p = 1
I_i	T_i = 1h	2h	4h	6h	8h	10h
1	900	1,000	1,200	1,400	1,600	1,800
2	1,000	1,200	1,600	2,000	2,400	2,800
3	1,100	1,400	2,000	2,600	3,200	3,800
4	1,200	1,600	2,400	3,200	4,000	4,800
5	1,300	1,800	2,800	3,800	4,800	5,800
6	1,400	2,000	3,200	4,400	5,600	6,800
7	1,500	2,200	3,600	5,000	6,400	7,800
8	1,600	2,400	4,000	5,600	7,200	8,800
9	1,700	2,600	4,400	6,200	8,000	9,800
10	1,800	2,800	4,800	6,800	8,800	10,800
11	1,900	3,000	5,200	7,400	9,600	11,800
12	2,000	3,200	5,600	8,000	10,400	12,800
13	2,100	3,400	6,000	8,600	11,200	13,800
14	2,200	3,600	6,400	9,200	12,000	14,800
15	2,300	3,800	6,800	9,800	12,800	15,800
16	2,400	4,000	7,200	10,400	13,600	16,800
17	2,500	4,200	7,600	11,000	14,400	17,800
18	2,600	4,400	8,000	11,600	15,200	18,800
19	2,700	4,600	8,400	12,200	16,000	19,800
20	2,800	4,800	8,800	12,800	16,800	20,800

Equation A by T i, J = 100, T p = 8, I p = 1
T_i	I_i = 1	5	10	15	20
1	900	1,300	1,800	2,300	2,800
2	1,000	1,800	2,800	3,800	4,800
3	1,100	2,300	3,800	5,300	6,800
4	1,200	2,800	4,800	6,800	8,800
5	1,300	3,300	5,800	8,300	10,800
6	1,400	3,800	6,800	9,800	12,800
7	1,500	4,300	7,800	11,300	14,800
8	1,600	4,800	8,800	12,800	16,800
9	1,700	5,300	9,800	14,300	18,800
10	1,800	5,800	10,800	15,800	20,800
11	1,900	6,300	11,800	17,300	22,800
12	2,000	6,800	12,800	18,800	24,800

Information trade-off, J = 100, physical hours required for target A
I	A = 5,000	A = 10,000	A = 20,000	A = 50,000
0.5	100	200	400	1,000
1	50	100	200	500
2	25	50	100	250
3	16.67	33.33	66.67	166.67
5	10	20	40	100
8	6.25	12.5	25	62.5
10	5	10	20	50
15	3.33	6.67	13.33	33.33
20	2.5	5	10	25
30	1.67	3.33	6.67	16.67
50	1	2	4	10

Proof of equivalence, (J x I) x T p = J x (T p x I) = J x T i
I	T_p	J × I	(J × I) × T_p	T_p × I	J × (T_p × I)	T_i	J × T_i	Equal?
1	8	100	800	8	800	8	800	YES
2	8	200	1,600	16	1,600	16	1,600	YES
5	8	500	4,000	40	4,000	40	4,000	YES
10	4	1,000	4,000	40	4,000	40	4,000	YES
20	2	2,000	4,000	40	4,000	40	4,000	YES
40	1	4,000	4,000	40	4,000	40	4,000	YES
80	0.5	8,000	4,000	40	4,000	40	4,000	YES

Value by quadrant as information rises, J = 100, T = 8h
I	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q4 / Q1
1	800	800	800	800	1
2	800	1,600	800	1,600	2
5	800	4,000	800	4,000	5
10	800	8,000	800	8,000	10
15	800	12,000	800	12,000	15
20	800	16,000	800	16,000	20
30	800	24,000	800	24,000	30
50	800	40,000	800	40,000	50

Hours saved through information, baseline T p = 100
I	Without information	With information	Hours saved	Reduction
1	100	100	0	0%
2	100	50	50	50%
5	100	20	80	80%
10	100	10	90	90%
20	100	5	95	95%
50	100	2	98	98%
100	100	1	99	99%

Original visualizer's AI sensitivity sketch, relative value, base 100
Stage	Q1, pure physical	Q3, intellectual flow	Q2, qualified physical	Q4, high-value intellectual
Pre-AI	100	100	100	100
Basic AI	80	70	110	150
Advanced AI	40	30	120	350
General AI	15	10	130	800
Post-AI	5	3	140	2,000

The original visualizer described the Jevons analogy as applicable to knowledge and to the study of Torah: when access becomes cheap, the bottleneck moves toward interpretation, synthesis, and Chiddush, an original insight or new reading.

I	Without information	With information	Hours saved	Reduction
1	100	100	0	0%
2	100	50	50	50%
5	100	20	80	80%
10	100	10	90	90%
20	100	5	95	95%
50	100	2	98	98%
100	100	1	99	99%

I	Without information	With information	Hours saved	Reduction
1	100	100	0	0%
2	100	50	50	50%
5	100	20	80	80%
10	100	10	90	90%
20	100	5	95	95%
50	100	2	98	98%
100	100	1	99	99%

I	Without information	With information	Hours saved	Reduction
1	100	100	0	0%
2	100	50	50	50%
5	100	20	80	80%
10	100	10	90	90%
20	100	5	95	95%
50	100	2	98	98%
100	100	1	99	99%