The Mathematics that Contemporary Economics Ignores

Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Population — by Craig Mackintosh November 3, 2009

With all the talk of a new carbon economy and dreams of new sources of energy so we can continue with our contemporary understanding of human ‘progress’ – continual economic growth – I wonder if a few facts may be getting overlooked. You might not have time to watch these clips in one sitting, but do bookmark it so you can come back and watch them through.

Here we have Dr. Albert Bartlett, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Physics, University of Boulder Colorado talking about Peak Oil and Population Growth from a mathematics perspective. Essentially, Limited Resources + Exponential Growth = Only a Matter of Time. As he says, it’s not rocket science, but nevertheless the consequences of these simple calculations are being almost universally ignored in our consumer-oriented economy – and by the politicians and industry that run them.

The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function. – Dr. Albert Bartlett

Warning: Dry Sense of Humour Alert!

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

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