the seven hour number crunching task can be reduced to 0.41s, or 60,000x faster than the original Python code.
Yes, but how many hours of programmer time did it take to do the optimization, and how much money does a few hours of a programmer's time cost versus a few hours of a single CPU core?
I'm all for simple and efficient programming, but processors are rather ridiculously fast now. The only thing I concern myself with performance wise is why my web browser takes so damn long to load what should be a simple Amazon product page, with it's delayed loading of tons of javascript that happens AFTER I've started typing into the search box messing things up, and not knowing when it's actually finished.
Longer-term, I'm sure chipmakers aren't going to just give up. Quantum computers are in the works, much has been said of optical, shortening pipeline or increasing L1 cache helps, and there's potential for exotic layouts like 3D multi-layer chips to give a speed boost as well. With many billions to be made, there won't be a shortage of R&D when we actually hit the wall.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
