Heinz von Foerster, Patricia M. Mora, and Lawrence W. Amiot wrote in their study: “Thus, we may conclude with considerable confidence that the principle of ‘adequate technology’, which proved to be correct for over 100 generations, will hold for at least three more.
Advert
“Fortunately, there is no need to strain the theory by undue further extrapolation, because and here the pessimists erred again our great-great-grandchildren will not starve to death. They will be squeezed to death.”
The researchers looked at how the world’s population had grown over the last 2,000 years and noticed the growth kept going up.
The world is ending very soon according to a study in the 60s (Getty Stock Images)
The world is ending very soon according to a study in the 60s (Getty Stock Images)
Back then, the global population had almost doubled within 60 years, going from 1.6 billion in 1900 to three billion in 1960, and this was in spite of the devastation caused by two world wars.
They predicted that while advancements in technology had so far managed to sustain the growing population, in three generations time this would no longer be the case.
The researchers wrote that ‘it is easy to see that increased density may in many cases reduce the probability of survival for an individual element’, suggesting continued population growth could lead humans to ‘struggle for existence in a finite environment’.
So when they created a formula to map out the way the population was growing at an ever increasing rate, the maths showed the population would reach infinity on Friday, 13 November, 2026.
