Moore__39__s_law.mdwn (1923B)
1 **Moore's law** is a historical trend of [[integrated circuit|IC]] 2 development: the density of transistors can be doubled every two years. It 3 was posited by Gordon Moore in 1965. Several experts, including Moore 4 himself, have predicted that the trend will end by 2025. 5 6 While there are definitely good aspects in Moore's law (including the 7 improvement of energy and material efficiency), it has also come with 8 economical, technological and philosophical side effects. 9 10 Perhaps the most prominent of these is an extreme form of 11 [[Jevons paradox]]: a dramatic increase in resource efficiency has led to a 12 dramatic increase in resource use. In software, Jevons paradox manifests as 13 [[Wirth's law]]: software becomes slower (more bloated, less 14 energy-efficient) more rapidly than hardware becomes faster (more 15 energy-efficient). Jevons paradox is also a major driver of 16 [[obsolescence]]. 17 18 Moore's law is not a "law of physics" but depends on inreasing economic 19 investments: **Moore's second law**, also known as **Rock's law**, states 20 that the cost of a state-of-the-art fabrication plant doubles every four 21 years. The smaller the feature size, the more specialization and complexity 22 is needed in equipment and processes. This has lead to extreme 23 [[centralization]] of fabs. 24 25 Philosophically, Moore's law has given a lot of room to [[maximalism]], 26 including the idea that technological progress is mostly increase of 27 quantity rather than change of quality. The emphasis on quantitative 28 maximization easily leads to maximization of energy and resource use. 29 30 Permacomputing welcomes efficiency improvements without the afore-mentioned 31 side effects. It therefore emphasizes [[lifespan maximization]], small-scale 32 and local production, [[minimization]] and non-maximalist [[aesthetics]]. 33 34 Gordon Moore is not to be confused with Chuck Moore, the creator of 35 [[Forth]], nor with Max More, a proponent of [[extropianism|maximalism]].