Pournelle's law

proper noun

The rule of thumb that there should be at least one CPU for each user of a system.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. computingThe rule of thumb that there should be at least one CPU for each user of a system.
  2. The principle that any bureaucracy eventually comes to serve its own interests rather than those it was created to help with.

Origin

After Jerry Pournelle (1933–2017), an American writer of science fiction.

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Cite this entry
APA

Pournelle's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pournelle's%20law

MLA

“Pournelle's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pournelle's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pournelle's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pournelle's%20law.

Source: Pournelle's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.