Economic jargon is usually confined to textbooks and business school seminars. But every once in a while, something happens in the world that drives the lingo out of obscurity and into popular discussions.

One such emergence happened late last month when, following a weekend of alarm over the viability of A.I. investments, Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, told followers in a post on X: “Jevons paradox strikes again! As A.I. gets more efficient and accessible, we will see its use skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just can’t get enough of.”

How it’s pronounced

/je-vənz per-ə-däks/

The Jevons Paradox is named after the 19th-century economist and logician William Stanley Jevons. In his 1865 book, “The Coal Question,” he noted that as engines improved and made coal more efficient — requiring less of the resource to produce the same amount of energy — demand for coal would actually increase, not decrease. In other words, he said, a drop in the cost of production often leads to greater production.

Televised citations (and recitations) of Jevons took off on Monday Jan. 27, as the U.S. stock market was rattled.