📈 Chartpack: Understanding modularity (2/2)
The building blocks of the exponential future
Hi, it’s Azeem.
In the first part of her Chartpack,
introduced the concept of modularity and showed that it has been a critical driver of innovation and cost decline from the beginning of the industrial revolution, to tiny semiconductors and all the way to the standardisation of containers across the world.In this second part, she will focus on portraying how modularity has enabled the radical price decline of solar PV and its rapid scaling. Modularity also made the AI revolution possible, and continues to shape its development. All of this because modularity is a catalyst for learning.
The first part of this two-part series is open to all readers. This second part is made available fully to paying members only.
Part 2 |
The building blocks of the exponential future
What is learning and why does it matter?
Wright’s Law, also known as the learning curve or experience curve, emerged from the observations of American engineer T.P. Wright in the early 20th century. While examining aeroplane manufacturing during World War I, Wright discovered that as more units of a product were produced, the cost of production consistently decreased. This principle demonstrated that efficiency and expertise improved over time through repetitive production. The cost reduction was attributed to better process optimization, resource utilisation, and the experience gained by the workforce. Wright’s Law has now been applied to many industries, such as car manufacturing. In the chart below, you can see the Tesla Model 3 learning curve: for every cumulative doubling of its production, the Model 3 costs approximately 15% less to produce.
So how does modularity accelerate the learning curve? Let’s return to its definition. Modularity is the degree to which a system or entity is broken down into smaller, individual components that can be (1) replaced or modified without affecting the rest of the system and (2) combined in different ways using a connector.