The Compression
Jim Clark said in half his lifetime, computers went from monstrous machines to something anyone could hold.
The minicomputer age was born 25 years before his interview. The microcomputer age just 10 years before. The momentum toward miniaturization was astonishing.
Price and performance improved by a factor of 3,000 to 10,000 in 15 years. Nothing else in human history improves at that rate.
A factor of 3,000 to 10,000 in 15 years is just astonishing. What else improves at that rate?
The Frontier Effect
Clark said Silicon Valley has a frontier nature that the East Coast does not. The US was settled from east to west. The western edge still carries that pioneer energy.
As a national culture, America is substantially more entrepreneurial than Europe. In Europe, there is more value placed on history, tradition, and conservatism.
That difference matters in an industry that moves as fast as technology. You need a culture that accepts change quickly.
In Europe, these kinds of quick changes are resisted. As a result they're just not going to catch the wave like the American entrepreneur will.
Why America Leads
Clark said American entrepreneurs and educated people gravitate toward technology instead of resisting it.
The computer industry moves so fast that cultural acceptance of change is a competitive advantage. Countries that resist disruption fall behind.
Silicon Valley is one more example of a phenomenon that has happened before — Hollywood for movies, Detroit for cars, New York for finance. Certain places become impossible to replicate.