Definition
An accounting distortion in which efficiency, speed, or productivity metrics count only what is spent inside the machine boundary. The human subsidy outside it, the human time, attention, and repair work, is counted as zero. Leaving that work out of the denominator makes the institution look more efficient than it is.
A system that takes 50 milliseconds of server time but 45 minutes of human troubleshooting across phone trees and appeal queues is not fast; it has falsified its denominator. Refusing the falsified denominator is the core demand of Axiom 1 (Finitude) and STD-01 (Temporal Rights). The general form is the falsified ledger: when a boundary leaves out the costs, burdens, and failures needed to understand performance, accurate accounting inside it still produces a false account.
Tests that show it is in place
- End-to-end resolution time, including user and operator labor, is reported beside server-side processing time.
- Time spent on disputes, appeals, and workarounds is budgeted and shown on operational dashboards.
References
- Absorption as concealment · Theory
- STD-01 — Temporal Rights · Standard