Growth

yellow bananas
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Visualizing Global Resource Abundance

Think pizzas. Personal resource abundance is the size of the slice. Global resource abundance is the size of the pie. Global resource abundance is the product of the size of the slice multiplied by the size of the population. Read More ›
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Top down view of claw hammer and rusty nails on a plain wooden background
Top down view of claw hammer and rusty nails on a plain wooden background

Nailing Innovation

Professor Daniel Sichel from Emory Riddle University has published an interesting paper on nails. He found that before the Industrial Revolution, it took about a minute for a skilled blacksmith or nailsmith to produce one hand-forged nail. Today, a worker can produce 3,500 nails per minute. Read More ›
green-corn-field-with-corn-cobs-close-up-stockpack-adobe-stock
Green corn field with corn cobs close up.
Green corn field with corn cobs close up.

Cornpreneurs Save Us From Davos Elites

You may want to try a worm with your next meal, but there is no reason to think we are running out of corn or the land to grow the food for making appetizing steaks, wings, and chops. Read More ›
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Three smartphones close-up on a white background.
Three smartphones close-up on a white background.

Apple Created $103 Trillion in Consumer Value

ale University economist and co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics, William Nordhaus, estimated that producers capture around 2.2 percent of the benefits of technological advances. That would leave 97.8 percent of those benefits to the consumers of those products. Read More ›
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DNA molecule in glass tube in hand of scientist
DNA molecule in glass tube in hand of scientist

The Fastest Learning Curve in History

In 1990 a goal was set to map the entire three-billion-letter human genome. The U.S. government spent $3.8 billion to fund the project in general with a fraction going towards the human genome sequencing. Read More ›
ponzi-scheme-text-with-document-brown-envelope-and-gavel-isolated-on-office-desk-stockpack-adobe-stock
Ponzi Scheme text with document brown envelope and gavel isolated on office desk.
Ponzi Scheme text with document brown envelope and gavel isolated on office desk.

Demographic Collapse #2: Ponzi Schemes

I have been arguing that a decline in population (“demographic collapse”) need not be a bad thing. If per-worker productivity remains high, or better yet rises considerably, then individuals and the society in general will remain wealthy and prosperous. Read More ›
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Panorama view aerial view new development neighborhood in Cedar Hill, Texas, USA in morning fall with colorful leaves. A city in Dallas and Ellis counties located 16 miles southwest of downtown
Panorama view aerial view new development neighborhood in Cedar Hill, Texas, USA in morning fall with colorful leaves. A city in Dallas and Ellis counties located 16 miles southwest of downtown

Population Growth and Resource Abundance

Are resources becoming more or less abundant? To answer this question we analyzed the change in the time prices of 50 basic commodities from 1980 to 2020. Recall that 1980 was the year Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich entered into their famous 10-year $1,000 bet on the price of five metals. Read More ›
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Are We Running Out? No

From 1980 to 2020, every one percent increase in population corresponded to a four percent increase in personal resource abundance and an eight percent increase in global resource abundance. Read More ›