July 12, 2026
Ctrl+Alt+Del the speed?
A Speed Limit for Computers
Should computers get a speed limit? Commenters are absolutely losing it
TLDR: The article argues that beyond a certain point, ever-faster computers may reduce fairness and give too much power to a few, much like high-speed transport. Commenters were split between outrage and curiosity, with many mocking the idea while others seriously asked whether unlimited machine speed is always good for society.
A thoughtful essay asking whether faster computers have actually made society less fair somehow turned into a glorious comment-section cage match. The article riffs on writer Ivan Illich’s old idea that, after a certain point, more speed and power stop helping everyone and start helping only a few. Its spicy modern twist: what if computers had limits, the same way roads do? Think capped internet speeds, smaller storage, or less powerful machines by law — not because the tech can’t go faster, but because society chooses restraint.
And wow, the crowd did not take that calmly. One furious commenter called the idea an “unfathomably bad idea” and even a violation of “fundamental human rights,” which is about as subtle as setting your keyboard on fire. Another shot back with the thread’s most meme-ready line: “In computing, waiting kills. Speed is life.” That instantly framed the whole debate like a battle between digital libertarians and slow-tech romantics.
Still, not everyone came to throw tomatoes. One commenter actually vibed with the premise, quoting Vim’s old slogan about working at the “speed of thought” and asking the wonderfully weird question: how much faster should automated thinking be than human thinking? That gave the whole debate a philosophical glow-up. Meanwhile, the haters kept the drama high, with one brutally dismissing the piece as “a blog post in search of a solution in search of a problem.” In other words: less consensus, more chaos — exactly how the internet likes it.
Key Points
- •The article uses Ivan Illich’s 1973 essay *Energy and Equity* to argue that beyond a threshold, additional energy or speed can reduce equity rather than improve it.
- •It highlights Illich’s claim that transport inequality is driven by speed itself, not just by the type of vehicle.
- •The article cites UK speed restrictions introduced in 1974 and Wales’s default 20 mph limits in 2023 as examples of accepted political limits on vehicle capability.
- •It argues that computing regulation currently focuses on data processing and accountability rather than directly limiting hardware capability such as storage, CPU speed, or network bandwidth.
- •The article presents e-bikes, especially EPACs limited to 15 mph in the UK and Europe, as an example of technology shaped by legal restraint to expand access without increasing time scarcity for others.