What Time-to-Human Calculates
The single score that tells you whether leaving the house is worth it tonight.
Time-to-Human answers one question: does the connection payoff beat tonight's transit, cost, and energy tax?
Time-to-Human takes the four inputs that actually drive whether tonight's outing is worth it — connection quality, transit time, dollar cost, and your current energy floor — and produces one number. Above 1.0 the math says GO. Below, it says STAY, guilt-free.
Quick answer
Time-to-Human answers one question: does the connection payoff beat tonight's transit, cost, and energy tax?
Key points
- ▸ Formula: (connection intensity × 10) ÷ (transit + cost + energy tax). Energy tax grows as your energy score drops.
- ▸ Threshold is 1.0 — a calibrated midpoint where the inputs balance. Anything above means connection beats the spend; below means you are paying more than you will receive.
- ▸ Low energy inflates the tax nonlinearly. Energy 3 can turn an otherwise fine outing into a net loss because the recovery cost dominates.
- ▸ The verdict is permission, not a prescription. STAY is a legitimate answer — the tool breaks the guilt cycle that keeps depressed people locked in false-choice loops.
- ▸ Built for the specific window where leaving the house feels impossible. In that window, arithmetic is more reliable than motivation.
Examples
- Low energy + far driveEnergy 3, transit 45 min, cost $25, connection 6 → score 0.36 → STAY. The 6 out of 10 connection cannot overcome the energy/cost tax at this floor.
- Close friend nearbyEnergy 7, transit 10 min, cost $0, connection 9 → score 2.25 → GO. Clean green light — everything aligned.
- Obligation dinnerEnergy 5, transit 30 min, cost $40, connection 3 → score 0.32 → STAY. The cost of going drowns the connection payoff; this is the tool catching a social obligation trap.
When to use which tool
Related
- Time to HumanWeighed social ROI — does the connection payoff beat the transit, cost, and energy tax of leaving the house?
- When to Use Time-to-HumanFive moments when social math actually resolves the loop.
- Five Time-to-Human MistakesThe input errors that flip GO and STAY.
- What Social Latency ComputesThe stripped numerical version of the social-ROI formula — one gauge, one verdict.
Frequently asked questions
› Is 1.0 the right threshold? Trust & accuracy
It is a calibrated midpoint, not sacred. Below 1 the formula weights say the spend beats the payoff. Tune your own threshold up or down — the value of the tool is deterministic math you can reason about, not a magic number.
› Does this trivialize mental health?
The opposite. It removes the guilt cycle that extroverted friends and self-help content inject into an otherwise simple decision. STAY is a real answer; the tool gives you permission to use it.
› How is this different from Social Latency? How-to
Same formula, different UI. Time-to-Human has a battery gauge, verbal verdict, and energy tax. Social Latency is the stripped numerical version with no copy layer.
› How should I use a decision framework in real life? How-to
Use a decision framework to expose the tradeoff, not to outsource the decision. Write down the inputs, compare the output with your constraints, then ask what would change the answer. The strongest use is scenario testing: base case, conservative case, and failure case.
› Is this financial, legal, or tax advice? Trust & accuracy
No, this is not legal, financial, tax, medical, or professional advice unless the page explicitly says that use case is supported. It organizes assumptions so you can inspect them. Verify high-stakes choices with qualified people who can review facts, contracts, regulations, and downside risk.