Gordon Shumway wrote:
SWMBO just bought a new table lamp for the desk in our computer room.
This lamp will be replacing one that uses two (2) 75 watt Incandescent
bulbs. This new lamp uses only one (1) bulb. The label says "60 watt
Incandescent or 15 watt CFL maximum." This will probably not be
enough light for my old eyes.

I was under the impression that maximum wattage for a given fixture
was because of the fixtures ability to withstand the heat produced by
the bulb. If that's true wouldn't one be able to use a higher output
CFL relative to the incandescent because of the lower heat the CFL
bulbs produce?

I would like to use the equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent, a 23
watt CFL. Good or bad idea?

It would seem the worst you are going to have is a quicker failure of
the CFL so I think it is a good idea.
OTOH you should probably try the smaller CFL first to see if the light
is actually OK