A greater and greater amount of effort is needed to squeeze the next few miles per gallon out of vehicles of any kind, whereas each tranche of extra megabits comes more cheaply for now. Very roughly, the best industry to be in as an innovator was: 1800 – textiles; 1830 – railways; 1860 – chemicals; 1890 – electricity; 1920 – cars; 1950 – aeroplanes; 1980 – computers; 2010 – the web.
