Scientific Definition
Growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing quantity.
Plain-English Definition
Growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing quantity.
Feynman Explanation
It looks small until it is too big to ignore.
Core Principle
Growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing quantity.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing quantity.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Exponential trends are missed because early numbers look flat.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
It looks small until it is too big to ignore.
Examples
- Viral adoption, compound interest, and pandemic spread all accelerate.
- Exponential trends are missed because early numbers look flat.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Track ratios and rates, not just absolute levels.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Track ratios and rates, not just absolute levels.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.