Gates' Law
Updated 2026-08-05
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Attributed to a remark by Gordon Bell and associated with Bill Gates, the law states that the resources software consumes grow faster than hardware costs fall, so each generation of hardware is absorbed by heavier software. The result is that machines feel no faster despite large gains in raw capacity. The core claim is that efficiency is a choice that markets rarely force. The qualification is that the pattern describes a tendency rather than a strict rule, and some systems do get leaner.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Use Resource Watch: Track the memory, storage, and power your software consumes across releases. - Use Bloat Control: Cap dependency growth and abstraction depth before they consume the gains. - Use Hardware Balance: Weigh added hardware against the cost of fixing the software instead.
Anchor fast decisions
Cheaper hardware lowers the cost of inefficiency, so the incentive to write lean code weakens and each release absorbs the new capacity. Because users upgrade hardware to solve problems caused by software, demand for faster machines persists even when the software is the binding constraint. The cycle continues until something forces efficiency, which is why raw capability gains often do not reach the user as speed.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth's_lawverified
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