Tag Archives: tom white

Perpetual Growth is Impossible

Chessboard diagram: exponential growth

PERPETUAL GROWTH IS IMPOSSIBLE: We’ve all heard the story of the clever merchant who asked the King to pay him with grains of wheat placed on a chessboard. On the first square he was to receive one grain; on the second, two grains; on the third, four grains — doubling with every square up to the 64th. The King readily agreed to pay such a small sum; How much could it add up to in just 63 doublings, after all? … Read the rest of this article