One of the key principles of money is ‘opportunity cost.’ It means that when I buy something, I have to give up something else in return. We think we buy because we need something, but we often forget that we could buy something else instead. We rarely consider ‘opportunity cost’ when making a purchase. We do not compare other values against our needs. Buying something means giving up something else, but we often don’t realize it. When we spend money, we should also consider the ‘opportunity cost’; yet, in reality, we aren’t trained to do so. By making a purchase, we bypass the value comparison that may not offer any additional benefits. Maybe it’s because we lack knowledge, or perhaps the idea isn’t appealing. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Here a product is being made by only three countries, South Korea, China, and Japan. It's not a semiconductor but a nail clipper. You might think that a nail clipper is not a big deal, but it's not as simple as that. Nail clippers are a combination of all sorts of advanced technologies. In the 1980s, South Korea could produce submarines and battleships, but they did not possess the technology to produce nail clippers. When the upper and lower teeth are in mesh, the chink must be 0.1 to 0.2 millimeters. When perfect engagement, the nail is not cut properly on the contrary, the outrange of this tolerance, is cut out coarsely. Today, thanks to technological advances, South Korea has been able to narrow this chink to between 0.05 and 0.08 millimeters. South Korea, to achieve this goal, produces a special steel called "15CM" through POSCO which is specially made for this nail clipper. Many different advanced technologies are combined in this tiny nail clipper. Don't ...