Tag Archives: The Impossible Hamster

Illustrating exponential growth using movement towards a target

Posted on May 31, 2022 by peNdantry

The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function. Professor Albert Bartlett (1923–2013) Ever since I first encountered this quote (in Professor Bartlett’s seminal lecture ‘Arithmetic, population and energy‘) I’ve been trying to think … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, Communication, Core thought, Education, GCD: Global climate disruption, People, perception, Phlyarology | Tagged , , , | 43 Comments

The greatest weapon in the green warrior’s arsenal

Posted on April 5, 2022 by peNdantry

tl;dr: Just Say No. From birth to puberty, a hamster doubles its weight each week. If it didn’t stop when mature, as animals do, and continued to double on its first birthday, we would be staring at a nine billion … Continue reading →

Posted in ... wait, what?, balance, Biodiversity, Business, Communication, Core thought, Economics, Environment, GCD: Global climate disruption, Phlyarology, Strategy | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

How to explain to a dummy that perpetual growth is not good

Posted on February 1, 2010 by peNdantry

If you’re no dummy, take a look at a more scientific explanation…

Posted in ... wait, what?, balance, Communication, Core thought, Economics, Education, Energy, Environment, People, Phlyarology | Tagged , , | 4 Comments