Too Long; Didn't Read
Performance is one of the most interesting and challenging areas in systems development. Exponential improvements in performance of computer technology over the last 10 decades (if you include the transitions from electrodynamic relays, vacuum tubes, discrete transistors to integrated circuits) is the key reason why software development is such a dynamic and ever-changing field. Improvements in algorithms and architectures are critical, but they are almost always enabled or made necessary by underlying improvements in performance. This is similar to how virtually every breakthrough in science is a consequence of some breakthrough in technology.