on exponential growth in technology

i read once that it's hard to comprehend exponential growth in technology because we are too close to the ground. kind of like an ant climbing a hill. our delta x is small so the curve seems linear so we can't help extrapolating linearly when we imagine the future. i think a x86 processor emulated in javascript is a glimpse towards the summit of the hill. except it's not a summit. it's more like a wall in the distance stretching up until it's lost in the clouds. i'm picturing the ring world in halo one for some reason... except it would not be a circle obviously... and some ants.