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The Salary Theorem

Written by Nickel - 5 Comments

Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power.

Postulate 2: Time is Money.

As anyone who has had a physics class knows: Power = Work / Time.

And since Knowledge = Power (Postulate 1) and Time = Money (Postulate 2)…

It is therefore true that: Knowledge = Work / Money.

Solving for Money, we get: Money = Work / Knowledge

Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of Work done.

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Published on June 12th, 2005
Modified on May 27th, 2011 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Humor, Working

About the author: is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!

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5 Responses to “The Salary Theorem”

  1. 1
    Flexo Says:

    That theorem holds true in my office up to the Associate VP level. Only smart people tend to break though to VP level, so maybe there’s another theorem that takes that into account. :>

  2. 2
    jim Says:

    Haha, nice theorum. Too bad, in your sparkle of brilliance, you have assured yourself a life of poverty. :)

  3. 3
    dave Says:

    I like it. :) So what you’re saying is that the less we learn, the more we earn? (No rhyme intended.)

    Sometimes it seems like the only thing you really need to know is how to convince people to give you money. Anything beyond that is, well, just fluff… :)

  4. 4
    jasper86 Says:

    Another way to look at this is the less Knowledge applied, the higher the cost (Money) for the same amount of Work.

  5. 5
    Taymur Says:

    i absolutely agree,
    if two people are paid the same and work the same,
    then the less knowledgeable is earning more money (relatively), or the more knowledgeable is earning less money(relatively), and it might be both :) .

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