"640K Ought to Be Enough" — Bill Gates (Attributed)

The apocryphal '640K ought to be enough for anybody' claim attributed to Bill Gates remains the archetype of shortsighted tech predictions. Although Gates has consistently denied making the remark, the quote’s enduring popularity reflects a profound failure to anticipate exponential memory demands. By 2024, even budget smartphones carried 8GB of RAM—12,500 times more than 640K. This underestimation outperforms #4's dismissal of television in its cultural impact, proving that no amount of genius can predict the curve of innovation. The quote’s power lies in its cautionary tale about linear thinking in an exponential world.