THIS PAGE IS AN ARCHIVE. GO TO THE HOMEPAGE TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO NEXT.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. arch emisou panton
	Phil's Blogservations Wednesday, April 20, 2005 Posted by philgomes 10:57 AM EETimes On The Origins Of Moore's Law EETimes On The Origins Of Moore's Law There's a great article in EETimes about how Moore's Law went from an interesting thesis by Gordon Moore, to a relatively offhand interview comment by Carver Mead, and eventually the infamous yardstick against computing progress is measured. I was doubly glad to see that this article called out a point that I heard Mead deliver in a Churchill Club panel discussion: That Moore's Law is more of a law about the human spirit than anything else. "It was a catchy phrase," said Mead. The fortuitous combination of Mead's phrase, his research and his seminal 1971 paper on electron tunneling made everything that followed possible, said Mead. It was less about technology than about unlocking human potential, he said. "It made people believe in the future, in possibilities; it was all about the human spirit." Now, wouldn't it be great if we had such "laws" for other things? I'm thinking about fuel efficiency, for one thing. Or high school graduation rates. Then again, I suppose this might illustrate how politics can often conspire against the human spirit in terms of putting lofty goals out there and motivating people to achieve them. I guess it also shows the power of economic motivation, since Moore's Law and its inherent expectations certainly gives companies a strong incentive to shatter one perceived technical barrier after the next. HOME | OBSESSIONS | FAQ | HEROES | CAREER | BLOG | CONTACT Note that the views expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect those of Phil's employer, its business partners, its clients, or anyone or anything that doesn't come from Phil.	ABOUT THIS BLOG This blog not only discusses PR and media matters, but Phil's everyday observations about a variety of topics. EMAIL phil[at] philgomes[[dot}]com SYNDICATE Feedburner ARCHIVE YAHOO! IM SKYPE WISH LIST PITCH POLICY MY PHOTOS www.flickr.com Photostream RSS Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz COMMENT AND TRACKBACK POLICY Comments and trackbacks are unmoderated, though I will delete the patently offensive ones. Any comments and trackbacks are the opinions of the individual writer of those comments and trackbacks, and not those of Phil Gomes, his employer, its clients, or its business partners. If you have a bone to pick, bug the people who wrote the comment or trackback.