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THE VIDEO SHELF · exponential growth

Exponential Growth Arithmetic, Population and Energy, Dr. Albert A. Bartlett

A recording of physicist Albert Bartlett's well-known lecture on the arithmetic of exponential growth, applied to population and energy use. He argues that steady percentage growth in a finite world cannot continue and sneaks up suddenly.

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Why HN readers recommended it

Treated as the classic lecture on why people misjudge exponential growth, and pulled out in threads on compound growth, epidemics, crypto and resource limits.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel
Hiroob
Topic
exponential growth
Format
lecture
Level
general
HN recommenders in dataset
5
HN mentions in dataset
7
Recommendation years in dataset
2019–2021

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

  • The problem is that we cannot comprehend how fast things can shift. I just came across this video in another thread that I think illustrates the problem very well: [VIDEO] Basically, we can’t see something growing exponentially for the disaster they it will unleash until …

    pink_surfer on Hacker News · 2020-01
    In The Future Is Grim

  • A requisite response to those who mention compound growth (interest) and the fallacy of it "never" ending: [VIDEO] (Exponential Growth Arithmetic, Population and Energy, Dr. Albert A. Bartlett)

    maerF0x0 on Hacker News · 2019-12
    In What Is the Most Valuable Thing You Can Learn in One Hour?

  • While not specifically about the exponential growth of pandemics I've always liked the lecture "Exponential Growth, Population and Energy" by Dr. Albert Bartlett. [VIDEO]

    voxadam on Hacker News · 2020-03
    In Ask HN: What happens next after a successful lockdown?

Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.

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