In 65 short years, the humble transistor evolved into an artificial life form called Watson, a computer system that recognizes natural language and, in 2011, handily defeated two former champions on the TV quiz show Jeopardy.
The strange science of quantum mechanics promises a revolution in computer power as radical as that following the invention of the transistor in the 1950s.
The recent spurt in American productivity may be the productivity pay-off from the computer revolution, which started 50 years ago with the invention of the transistor.