Ernest 'Hemingway' Oppetit

9%
Flag icon
Increasing returns isn't an isolated phenomenon at all: the principle applies to everything in high technology. Look at a software product like Microsoft's Windows, he says. The company spent $50 million in research and development to get the first copy out the door. The second copy cost it—what, $10 in materials? It's the same story in electronics, computers, pharmaceuticals, even aerospace. (Cost for the first B2 bomber: $21 billion. Cost per copy: $500 million.) High technology could almost be defined as "congealed knowledge," says Arthur. "The marginal cost is next to zilch, which means ...more
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
Rate this book
Clear rating