A token is not a fixed unit of text. It is the output of a tokenizer. The same content can produce meaningfully different token counts depending on language, model version, and even quiet tokenizer updates. Non-English text routinely consumes more tokens. Output tokens are priced much higher than input tokens. Reasoning or “thinking” tokens are usually billed as output as well.

These mechanics create systematic opacity. Listed per-million-token prices are unreliable proxies for real cost. Cheaper models can end up more expensive overall because they consume more tokens to reach the same result. Subscription plans hide limits through silent model downgrades and non-comparable quotas. The practical consequence is that teams cannot budget accurately from published rate cards alone.

Consolidation dominates the conversation in Indian eye care. The numbers tell a different story.

The organised sector still accounts for only 14–16% of market value. The overwhelming majority of care continues to be delivered by independent, standalone practices. Most individual ophthalmologists will never receive a serious acquisition offer.

The dominant narrative says AI will cause mass unemployment. Three years of real data say otherwise.

Over 90% of U.S. firms that adopted AI reported zero change in headcount. Multiple surveys from the Atlanta Fed, Census Bureau, and other sources show the same pattern: almost no net job loss. What is happening instead is task reallocation inside existing roles. Recruiters do less screening and more judgment work. Lawyers review AI output rather than draft from scratch. Finance teams interpret rather than assemble data.

In competitive markets, firms face a powerful trap.

When AI displaces workers, each company captures the full cost savings from automation. But the resulting drop in consumer spending hurts demand across the entire market.

This two-part article published few months back is perfect for going down the rabbit hole on a weekend.

The post argues that mountains are an underrated driver of why many warm and tropical countries stay poorer. Near the equator, people move to higher altitudes to escape extreme heat.