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Why you need to know about the Lindy effect, as a developer.

Arnav Bansal on October 15, 2018

Age affects living beings negatively. Younger organisms can be expected to outlast older ones. But non-perishable things like ideas, music, and te...
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rithvikvibhu profile image
Rithvik Vibhu

"Every year that passes without extinction doubles the additional life expectancy."

I don't see this working in many places. Use of CDs is constantly diminishing and will die in a few decades. The same goes for obsolete tech which will be replaced someday.

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itsarnavb profile image
Arnav Bansal

The Lindy effect is an estimator that works on the average. You wouldn't use last month's prediction about the weather today to plan your trip if you could see the rain clouds in the sky.

I bet you a shekel that most 'obsolete' tech that'll be replaced in the near future are relatively new themselves.

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kurisutofu profile image
kurisutofu

I'm confused because by that logic, everything not extinct the first years would live forever ... no?
And so, nothing would ever go extinct ...

Since it was alive for a year, I can expect it to be alive another year.
But then, after that second year, I can expect it to be alive another 2 years.
And then, another 4, and 8 etc ...

Then, if the important part is without extinction and it meant that something could go extinct any given time, then what's the point of the expectation?

Am I looking at it wrong?

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Danny Engelman

So Windows (1985) will outlast Linux (1991) ?