The Prophet of Silicon Valley

In 1965 Gordon Moore published a data‑driven forecast that went beyond prediction and became a discipline: the steady rise of transistor density shaped both engineering practice and industry planning. This episode traces Moore’s practical chemistry background, the break from Shockley that created Fairchild and later Intel, and how a clear, economical projection—later called Moore’s Law—became a metronome for Silicon Valley.

We explore how the forecast’s emphasis on manufacturable progress, not mysticism, turned a trend line into expectations for faster devices, new products, and a startup culture that spun off companies and ideas across the Peninsula.