Jevons' Paradox
It is wholly a confusion of ideas to suppose that the economical use of fuel is equivalent to a diminished consumption. The very contrary is the truth.
William Stanley Jevons (1865)
Named after economist William Stanley Jevons, who observed in 1865 that improvements in coal-burning engine efficiency led to increased coal consumption, not decreased. More efficient engines made coal economically attractive for more applications, driving overall demand higher.
In software and technology:
- Faster CPUs enable more resource-intensive software
- Better compression algorithms lead to larger files being shipped
- Faster networks result in heavier web pages
The paradox suggests efficiency gains don't reduce resource usage, but in fact can lead in time to increased consumption. Wirth's Law and Andy and Bill's Law are also examples of Jevon's Paradox applied to computing.
See also: