The Malthusian Model Of Overpopulation

The core of scientific thought is induction. This is not a matter of opinion or preference. It only stands to reason that a theory with any significant reliance on speculation, the mere guessing at solutions, cannot be accepted as a solid one. If we, as a society or as a people, define speculative science as valid, then speculative science will be the unsteady foundation for further scientific inquiry, placing all future research in doubt. Consider, as an example, the following subset of an unknown larger set: {2, 3, 5}. Any scholar with an eye for mathematics will immediately recognize these as the first three prime numbers. However, to conclude that the larger set is then the set of all prime numbers would be ludicrous. The observation of only one further item may easily disprove the conclusion. If, for example, the number 1 (a non-prime) is also observed to be part of the set, one may recognize the pattern {1, 2, 3, 5} as part of the Fibonacci sequence, and might instead conclude that the larger set is, in fact, the set of all elements in the Fibonacci sequence. Of course, this also is a rash assumption to make, as there are an infinite number of sets containing these particular numbers. The larger set might be the …show more content…
It is natural and demonstrable that, given equivalent initial values, an exponential function will resolve to lower values than any linear function. If the exponential function is slow enough, which it may well be, it would be easy to conclude from observation that, since at no point has the exponential function exceeded the linear function, it shall never do so. As anyone knowledgeable in mathematics or aware of the conclusions of the Malthusian model could tell, however, this is certainly not the case. Speculation in the absence of inductive reasoning might lead one away from discovering an imminent disaster, if one is to