Opportunity Cost: The Price of Every Choice

Page Summary

An explainer of opportunity cost, the value of the best alternative given up by any choice, opening with Decca Records rejecting the Beatles in 1962 partly to save on travel costs. It presents a taxonomy of cost types, why humans systematically ignore opportunity costs, and four historical case studies (Xerox and the GUI, Kodak and the digital camera, Decca and the Beatles, and Nokia-Microsoft-Android), then applies the framework to career decisions, organizational strategy, and everyday money, with the intellectual lineage and failure modes.

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Every accepted correction to this page is recorded with the exact change, so readers can see how the page improved over time.

1. 11 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

   178 million is only the RIAA-certified U.S. total; worldwide Beatles record sales are commonly estimated at ~600 million or more.

   Before

   went on to sell 178 million records

   After

   went on to sell more than 600 million records

   Why: Corrected undercount: 178 million is only the RIAA-certified U.S. total; worldwide Beatles record sales are commonly estimated at 600 million or more. Verified already live in body content; FAQ had no mention of this figure.

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