Myers Law

The more powerful we make the computer, the more we ask it to do. Response time remains constant: Frustratingly slow.

Someone must have realized this long before me, but I hadn't heard it when it popped into my head, so I don't know who said it first. It was spawned by something LarryNiven said, I believe, about the intelligence of the planet being a constant, despite the dramatic increase in population. I was programming computers (frustratingly slow multi-user mainframes) and reading Niven in the mid-70's. Does anyone have an earlier reference? I'll gladly rename the page, despite my shameless egomaniacal self-promotion... ;-) -- RobMyers

This is an instance of a general principle whereby demand expands to fill excess capacity. When highways are expanded the same thing happens. It is easier to commute therefore people move into the area thus increasing traffic and causing gridlock again ...

For some non-obvious definitions of "excess". So for example, since InternetTrafficIsFractal internet bandwidth is about 90% unused on average. Yet there's no demand to fill that capacity.

There's some wonderful interplay here; it's getting better every day and it don't get any better than this.

It is called ParkinsonsLaw

See ShufflersLaw, PeterPrinciple, GroschsLaw

Yeah, I'll concede to ParkinsonsLaw. (Something about ShufflersLaw makes me think that Parkinson noted the underlying truth long before Shuffler ;-) -- RobMyers