Interpretations of Hyperbolic Growth

Hyperbolic growth describes the historical economic growth and historical growth of population, but their mechanism remains unexplained. Presented here is a brief survey of attempts to understand hyperbolic growth. Mathematical formulations are in general complicated and there is no clear advantage in using them because they do not give better description of data than the simple, two-parameter hyperbolic formula. They also do not explain the mechanism of growth. The well-known simple formula suggests a simple explanation. Two examples show how two independent investigations were on a brink of making an important and breakthrough discovery and how their potential discovery was thwarted by the established knowledge in demography and in economic research. Researchers who could have used their expertise to suggests new research directions and to advance science were constrained by doctrines, which are widely accepted by faith.