Editing Exponential growth (section)

==Exponential growth bias==

Studies show that human beings have difficulty understanding exponential growth. Exponential growth bias is the tendency to underestimate compound growth processes. This bias can have financial implications as well.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1111/j.1540-6261.2009.01518.x| title=Exponential Growth Bias and Household Finance| year=2009| last1=Stango| first1=Victor | last2=Zinman| first2=Jonathan| journal=The Journal of Finance| volume=64| issue=6| pages=2807–2849}}</ref>

===Rice on a chessboard===
{{see also|Wheat and chessboard problem}}
According to legend, vizier Sissa Ben Dahir presented an Indian King Sharim with a beautiful handmade [[chessboard]]. The king asked what he would like in return for his gift and the courtier surprised the king by asking for one grain of rice on the first square, two grains on the second, four grains on the third, and so on. The king readily agreed and asked for the rice to be brought. All went well at first, but the requirement for {{math|2<sup>''n''−1</sup>}} grains on the {{mvar|n}}th square demanded over a million grains on the 21st square, more than a million million ({{aka}} [[Orders of magnitude (numbers)#1012|trillion]]) on the 41st and there simply was not enough rice in the whole world for the final squares. (From Swirski, 2006)<ref name=Porritt-2005>{{cite book|last=Porritt|first=Jonathan|title=Capitalism: as if the world matters|year=2005| publisher=Earthscan| location=London| isbn=1-84407-192-8|page=49}}</ref>

The "[[second half of the chessboard]]" refers to the time when an exponentially growing influence is having a significant economic impact on an organization's overall business strategy.

===Water lily===
French children are offered a riddle, which appears to be an aspect of exponential growth: "the apparent suddenness with which an exponentially growing quantity approaches a fixed limit".  The riddle imagines a water lily plant growing in a pond.  The plant doubles in size every day and, if left alone, it would smother the pond in 30 days killing all the other living things in the water.  Day after day, the plant's growth is small, so it is decided that it won't be a concern until it covers half of the pond. Which day will that be? The 29th day, leaving only one day to save the pond.<ref name=Meadows-2004>{{cite book| last=Meadows| first=Donella|title=The Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update|year=2004|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=9781603581554| page=21}}</ref><ref name=Porritt-2005/>