Hacker News Reader

In the long term exponential growth is physically impossible because it would imply infinite GDP. Even if apple's value is currently growing exponentially it will eventually stop.

View on HN

Yes, in the long term, the universe will succumb to heat death and all value will go to zero. But on any time scale we might like to talk about (our lives, the life of the Earth), it seems plausible that exponential growth could continue (or at least, the long term argument doesn't apply).

This is a good moment for black swan thinking. Any time you get somebody arguing earnestly 'exponential growth will of course continue because it will continue, barring heat death of the universe' it's probably a crash indicator :)

Heh, don't jinx it.

If, as it has done so far, exponential GDP growth means exponential energy growth, then in a century or a bit less we will generate more heat as a byproduct of energy consumption as the earth is able to dissipate at livable temperatures.

In this framework growth has to end, on earth at least, much sooner than later.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com