Moore was initially talking about the processing power and price of computer chips. But Moore's Law has a profound substantive and symbolic effect on our lives today. It explains why the new computers campuses will purchase during summer 1996 will need to be replaced by summer 1999. Newer, faster, better, and less expensive technology is always right around the corner. But at a symbolic level, Moore's Law also offers a significant statement about the pace of change in a technology-driven economy.
Nothing is static, everything is dynamic, and change is the only constant.
This applies to information and skills as well as technology products and services. Things continue to move and to evolve, and they do so quickly and unexpectedly. The investments in internal training, retraining, and infrastructure that are common, routine expenditures in both small businesses and large corporations are not being made. To stay current and competitive, academic institutions, programs, and internal processes will have to recognize and accommodate change more quickly and efficiently than has been past practice. Perhaps the best preparation for a world where change is the only constant is found in the advice that the best teachers, professors, and mentors pass along to their prized students.