I hate buying a new computer.

It's not the selection process or hunting around for a deal.

It's knowing that when I purchase it, it's already out of date.

And there's a singular moment in my life that reminds me of this.

I was around 12 years old, and I really wanted to upgrade the family computer, but my parents didn't want to.

So I would go on IBM.com, back when they sold personal computers, and spec out the best desktop PC I could.

I think back to how if my parents would have spent that money, which, let's be clear, they would not have, that computer would have been worthless now.

And after everything I've learned over the years, there's one reason that explains why tech is outdated so quick, and that's Moore's Law.

From a kid with a chemistry set, to a man who defined the future of computing, on this episode of In the Shell.

Developers! Developers! Developers! Developers!

Janus and I don't own phones. Neither should you people, if you have any kind of common sense.

Let's talk about Gordon Moore, a Silicon Valley icon who didn't just co-found Intel.

He fundamentally changed the trajectory of technology with an idea so powerful it became known as Moore's Law.

It's the reason your smartphone is exponentially more powerful than the first computers that sent astronauts to the moon.

But before we dive into his groundbreaking prediction, let's take a step back and look how he got there.

Gordon Earl Moore was born on January 3rd, 1929, in San Francisco, California.

He grew up in Redwood City, the son of a county sheriff and a homemaker.

By all accounts, Gordon was a curious but quiet kid.

His defining moment came in 1940, when 11-year-old Gordon got a chemistry set for Christmas.

That little gift lit a spark.

Gordon decided then and there that he wanted to be a chemist, and that decision set the course for his life.

After high school, Gordon started at San Jose College, but quickly transferred to UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree in chemistry.

He went on to Caltech for his PhD in chemistry, working alongside some of the biggest names in science, including Nobel laureates like Glenn Seaborg.

By the time he graduated in 1954, Gordon wasn't just a scientist, he was ready to innovate.

Moore's career really kicked off when he joined the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, led by William Shockley, one of the inventors of the transistor.

But Shockley's management style was, let's just say, less than inspiring.

Gordon and seven of his colleagues, known as the Traitorous Eight, left to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957.

This move wasn't just about better working conditions, it was a pivotal moment in tech history.

Fairchild didn't just produce semiconductors, it laid the foundation for what would become Silicon Valley.

In 1965, Gordon was working at Fairchild, as the director of research and development, when Electronics Magazine asked him to predict the future of semiconductors over the next ten years.

Gordon wasn't one to make baseless guesses, he was a scientist.

So he analyzed data from the past five years and noticed something remarkable.

The number of transistors on integrated circuits had been doubling roughly every year.

This observation wasn't just a fluke.

Gordon realized there was a pattern, one that reflected how engineers were continuously figuring out ways to make components smaller and pack them more densely onto chips.

In his article, he predicted that this trend would continue for at least a decade, meaning that by 1975, computers would be far more powerful and affordable.

But here's the thing, it didn't stop there.

By 1975, Gordon revised his timeline to about every two years, and this became...

what we now know as Moore's Law. It wasn't just a prediction, it became the roadmap for the entire

tech industry. Engineers and companies adopted it as a challenge, pushing the limits of technology

to keep up with Gordon's vision. In 1968, Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, another member of the

traitorous eight, decided to strike out on their own. They founded NM Electronics, which would soon

be renamed to Intel. At Intel, Moore and Noyce, along with Andrew Grove, revolutionized computer

memory, integrated circuits, and microprocessors. Intel's success cemented Moore's reputation as

both a visionary and a builder. By the time he stepped down as CEO in 1987, Intel had become

one of the most important companies in the world, and its chips were powering everything.

from personal computers to industrial machines.

But let's break down why Moore's Law has been so impactful.

In simple terms, Moore's Law is about miniaturization.

By shrinking transistors, you can fit more of them onto a single chip.

More transistors means more processing power, and that drives technological progress.

But here's the catch.

Making transistors smaller isn't easy.

It's a game of innovation and engineering wizardry.

For decades, companies have poured billions of dollars into research and development

to keep Moore's Law alive.

Every time it looked like we'd hit a wall,

like when we reached the limits of traditional silicon-based transistors,

engineers found a way to push through,

whether by using new materials or developing techniques like 3D chip stacking.

Despite his monumental...

achievements, Gordon Moore was known for his humility. He once joked that Intel's first

business plan was one page long, double-spaced, and full of typos. In 2000, he and his wife Betty

launched the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation with a $5 billion endowment. The foundation has

funded everything from environmental conservation in the Amazon to cutting-edge scientific research.

They even contributed to building the 30-meter telescope in Hawaii, one of the largest optical

telescopes in the world. Gordon Moore passed away on March 24, 2023, at the age of 94. He left behind

a legacy that's almost impossible to overstate. As Intel's CEO, Pat Gelsinger, put it, Gordon didn't

just predict the future, he defined it. Moore's law isn't just a technical observation.

It's a philosophy of constant improvement, of pushing boundaries, and believing in what's possible.

In the Shell is written, researched, and recorded by me, the Silicon-based podcaster.

If you are listening in an app that lets you rate shows, please take a minute to rate this one.

I would like to try and apply Moore's Law to the number of ratings I have, but maybe on a shorter time frame.

That's it. Take care.

And I'll see you next time.