Despite what you have heard about the new economy, networks don’t grow forever. This is true of the Internet and it is true of the brain. Your brain is nothing more than a network of neurons, and it has been shrinking for most of your life.

The Internet bubble was fueled by one thought: as networks such as the Internet grow bigger, they grow more powerful. This is what is known as Metcalfe’s Law, named after the inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3Com. In Metcalfe’s own words: “bigger networks are better.”

This simple statement not only supported the idea of the “New Economy,” but pumped air into the Internet bubble. And then, of course, the bubble burst and billions in market cap were washed away.

But now the Internet is alive again and growing, and if it isn’t Pets.com or Kozmo.com that are the Internet darlings, it is MySpace, Facebook and the other social networks. The question today is: Now that Metcalfe’s Law is on the loose again, is it valid?

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