Science Since Babylon (1961) Using a number of empirical measures (most over at least 300 years), Price found that science, and the number of scientists, tended to double about every 15 years, with measures of higher quality science and scientists tending to grow slower (doubling every 20 years) and measures of lower quality science and scientists tending to grow faster (every 10 years).

According to Price (1961), one implication of this long-term exponential growth is that “80 to 90% of all the scientists that ever lived are alive today.” This insight follows from the likelihood that most of the scientists from the past 45 years (a period of three doublings) would still be alive. | Derek J. de Solla Price.

applies especially to scientists engaged in developing networks of computer networks.