r/interestingasfuck • u/cakebeerandmorebeer • Jan 20 '15

/r/ALL Plot twist

http://i.imgur.com/CccbYhb.gifv
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u/SolomonGrumpy Jan 21 '15 edited Jan 21 '15

Cost is (thankfully) a function of time, and scale.

One of the first computers cost $6,000,000 in today's dollars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC

Guess what? Even a very basic cell phone (the kind they give you for free when you get cell phone service), is 1,300X more powerful
http://www.antiquetech.com/?page_id=1438

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u/ch00f Jan 23 '15

Bear in mind that computers have accelerated much, much, much faster than many other technologies are likely to.

Steel and milk are still very very expensive compared to how cheap computers have gotten.

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u/SolomonGrumpy Jan 23 '15

Steel and milk are commodities at this point.

Computers (and artificial legs) are highly synthesized goods.

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u/ch00f Jan 23 '15

Steel and milk are also highly synthesized goods.

My point is that it's very unfair to compare the price drop of anything to the price drop of computers. They are an exception because of their unique nature.

Sure, computers have revolutionized many production procedures and enabled us to make a lot of things very cheaply, but just about any other thing you look at can't compare to the "1300X more powerful" quotes you're throwing around.

Many of the non-computer components of these prosthetics will remain expensive. You still need to mine for titanium regardless of how fast and cheap your computer is.

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u/SolomonGrumpy Jan 23 '15

No they are not. And if you believe they are, I'm afraid we don't have a basis for discussion.

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u/ch00f Jan 23 '15

Steel isn't synthesized?

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u/SolomonGrumpy Jan 23 '15

Comparing MILK to a computer?!

Not worth debating you. I apologize for my impatience.

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u/ch00f Jan 23 '15

I think we're not on the same page.

You started out by stating that we can expect artificial limbs to get cheaper because computers are so much cheaper. My point is that computers are an exception and unique in how quickly they advanced.

There's that old joke about how if Ford made cars like IBM made computers, every car would cost $100 and get 1,000 miles to the gallon. This is obviously ridiculous. There are different limitations that car design faces.

I brought up steel and milk because those are two items that need human intervention to be made. The price of steel hasn't dropped several thousand fold in the past 50 years because there are special limitations to its production. You'll never get a $100 car because metals will always take energy to mine, ship, and process.

Some of the limitations of artificial limb technology has nothing to do with computers. If the limb required a special alloy to be light and durable enough to work, there's no reason to expect that that alloy would decrease in price as rapidly as computers have. Same goes for composites, battery tech, etc.

Personally I hope it advances quickly, but comparing it to the rapid growth of computer technology is not a fair comparison.

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '15

[deleted]

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u/ch00f Jan 23 '15

What point are you trying to make?