> but there was a lot of low-hanging fruit in photolithographic precision, there for us to pluck, and pluck, and pluck, year after year.

As i grow older i find myself recognizing similar trends in a number of fields. You have a initial slow takeoff period where basic science has to be figured out. Then you have a steep climb as that science unlocks a bunch of iterative refinements on the concept. And then you find yourself at a plateau as new iterations become expensive and complex.