ABSTRACT
A techonomic metric (abbreviated as TM) is a data measurement that provides insight into trends by combining the impact of technology advance on the economics of a given endeavor. The TM concept and a general process for developing TMs were introduced in Chapter 2. This chapter extends your understanding of this process by constructing TMs for the four historical pillars of organizations revealed in the preceding technology timeline. The TM is a means of comparison for an endeavor in one of several ways:
1. Trends for an endeavor over time: A TM can monitor the same endeavor at different points in time, revealing the impact of technology and economics. For example, how much did it cost to distribute information via a book at different periods in history? Techonomic metrics reveal the telling example of the ancient $300,000 Torah, today reduced to the $0.85 Gideon Bible.
