Metcalfe’s Law against Brooks’ Law
Guido van Rossum, Python’s creator, recently said: “We have a huge community, but relatively few people, relatively speaking, are contributing meaningfully.”
This highlights a paradox.
Software thrives on the network effect, or Metcalfe’s Law, where a system’s value scales with the square of its users. Linux excels because its vast user base fuels adoption, documentation, and compatibility everywhere.
But larger teams don’t build better software—often the reverse. Brooks’ Law, from Fred Brooks’ The Mythical Man-Month, shows that adding people increases communication overhead, slowing progress. The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) also applies: a small minority drives most meaningful contributions. Great software often stems from a single visionary or a small, cohesive team, not a crowd.
The network effect applies primarily to users, not necessarily to creators.
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