Then would something like the difference between 1 gbps and 10gbps ethernet apply? In the large majority of American households that have wired computers, 1gbps could handle almost any task including fast file transfers, yet 10gbps is something you can purchase if you think you need it and using it will result in even faster speeds.
Do you think the difference between 1gbps and 10gbps is a similar jump forward, in terms of progress, as the advent of electricity as a replacement for gas?
I understand that the GP's argument is that the effects of a particular technological advancement cannot always be understood at the time of, or before, its introduction. But we aren't talking about gun powder here... We are discussing an incremental change to an already existing technology.
As Asimov explains, the velocity of "progress", specifically in areas we already have come to understand in some way, diminishes with each step forward.
