The importance of exponential growth

Why is this concept so important to understand? Well, it has been said that "the greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function" (Dr. Albert Bartlett). This is especially true today. So many things is happening right now where we are at a point in time where the growth has reached the near vertical line.

Although there has been a lot of controversy related to "the hockey stick graph", you cannot get "misled" by one if you understand its function and it is properly portrayed.









Because we are somewhere on this near vertical line related to our resources, population growth, debt and so on, things are happening very fast at this moment. The debt that was accumulated over the last 50 years could now be accumulated over lets say 5 years.

To understand the concept of exponential growth in more profound way, I advice you to either look at a video lecture from Dr. Albert Bartlett or read a transcript of it (the good thing with the version in text is that it can be translated).

One of the most compelling illustrations of this can be told in a little story followed a few questions.

An empty jar is placed on a table. At 11.00 one bacteria is inserted that has the capacity to double its numbers every minute. At 12.00 the jar is full.

- At what time is the jar half full?

- At what point in time would the bacteria in that jar realize that they are running out of space?

Lets assume that at 11.59 when the jar is half full the bacteria are starting to feel the urgency of the situation and gather whatever resources that they can find and somehow manages to come up with another three empty jars.

- At what time will these three empty jars be full? Well, at 12.01 jar one and two will be full and at 12.02 all four jars will be full.

This somewhat abstract story tells us something about why it is so important to understand exponential growth.