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Well I think they even multiply, making it even better news!



I'd rather they add up. Minus -5% runtime there, another -5% there... Soon enough, python will be so fast my scripts terminate before I even run them, allowing me to send messages to my past self.


log(2)÷log(1.1) ~= 7.27, so in principle sustained 10% improvements could double performance every 7 releases. But at some point we're bound to face diminishing returns.


.9 * x = 0.5

x ln 0.9 = ln 0.5

x = ln 0.5 / ln 0.9

x = 6.5788

So decreasing runtime by 10% 6.5788 times results in the code running in half the original time.


I think their number is the right one. Ten percent faster is not a ten percent decrease in runtime, it's about a nine percent decrease.




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