Moore’s Law and Marginal Revolution
Moore’s law refers to the observation by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years. In other words, the computing power of a processor increases every two years since companies can fit more computing power onto a chip by reducing the size of the circuits. The observation was first made in 1965, but it wasn’t until 1975 that he made the observation famous when he published his paper entitled “Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits”. Moore’s law has become a guiding principle for the semiconductor industry.
On the other hand, the marginal revolution was a term used to describe the development of economic theories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It focused on the concept that small, incremental changes can have large impacts. For example, it was used to demonstrate the effects of small changes in the price of a good on supply and demand. This revolution laid the foundation for modern microeconomics, which is the study of individual, firm, and market behavior.
The concept of marginal revolution had a direct influence on Moore’s law. Moore’s law was the realization that if Moore’s law holds true, small, incremental changes in chip design and manufacturing can have a major impact on computing power. Moore’s law is often referred to as an example of the power of iteration and the law of accelerating returns.
The success of Moore’s law and the marginal revolution has forever changed the landscape of computing. Before these two principles, computers were large and unwieldy, and comparatively expensive. Thanks to Moore’s law and the corresponding marginal revolution, computers are now more powerful than ever, much smaller than before, and more affordable than ever. From supercomputers in government and military applications, to laptops and smartphones in everyday life, Moore’s law and the marginal revolution have helped to bring computing power closer to the everyday person.
Moore’s law and the marginal revolution have been so influential in the computing industry that they are now used as models for other fields. The law of accelerating returns and the power of iteration, two key principles that drove the success of Moore’s law and the marginal revolution, have been adopted in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence. These principles can be used to explain the rapid advancement in these fields and the profound impact that technology has had on us.
The combination of Moore’s law and the marginal revolution has changed the world more than most people realize. Computing technology is now a part of everyday life, with devices such as computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets becoming an integral part of our lives. The combination of these two principles has also changed the way we work, with the ability to access the internet and powerful computer resources from anywhere in the world. The advancement in computing technology has also opened the doors to new innovative applications, such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics, which will continue to change the way we live and work in the coming years.
