Understanding Growth, Part 1

[binarray2000]

Let's put it like it is: Infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible.

We can not infinitely polute air, water, soil. We can not infinitely extract all crude materials from the Earth. We can not infinitely exploit most of the others.

What IS infinite is human imagination and ingenuity: We CAN innovate and (at least) greatly mitigate our impact on our Home. Thus the importance of education.

[f_allwein]

+1.

It boggles the mind how we don't seem to get this, and how the idea of economic growth seems to be directly opposed to sustainable living. This has been voiced for decades (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Is_Beautiful ) - wonder how much time have left to get it.

[hammock]

I'm reminded of this great read, "The Impossibility of Growth." http://www.monbiot.com/2014/05/27/the-impossibility-of-growt...

[tobessebot]

True, but the counterpoint would be that we don't need to stay on this planet. It is at least possible that we can sustain growth until we are multi-planetary.

[doctorcroc]

We can draw some nice parallels with the startup economy, especially when contrasting manic-depressive growth (unicorns on steroids) versus stable steady growth (boostrapped business). I would argue that there is some good middle ground where you take just enough debt/leverage to grow, but don't indulge in it to the point where it becomes mania and sinks you when the macroscopic environment turns sour.

[pizza]

The concept of 'antifragility' really seems to be popping up a lot in the media I consume via HN. I can't tell if antifragility is trendy, or really a novel, valuable idea of systems analysis that, until recently, hadn't converged upon a single descriptor.. Likely parts of both!

[ThomPete]

I have been "doing" antifragillity long before I read about it in Talebs book.

I neither consider it trendy nor novel but simply a way to understand the world and thus how to deal with it.

[mannykannot]

It strikes me as somewhat faddish. There is no real argument here that it is feasible, and I think the article would have been better without it.

[imacat]

Yes it sounds like a fantasy to me. People just love trends and hype cycles too much. As humans, we have an innate need to magnify the importance of certain things while marginalizing or ignoring others completely. It's easier to think in black and white instead of shades of grey.