--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is clear that we cannot go up another…" description: "\"It is clear that we cannot go up another two orders of magnitude as we have climbed the last five. If we did, we should have two scientists for every m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/derek-j-de-solla-price-77682_century_it-is-clear-that-we-cannot-go-up-another_3040731.jpg" --- # It is clear that we cannot go up another two orders of… ![“It is clear that we cannot go up another two orders of magnitude as we have climbed the last five. If we did, we should have two scientists for every man, woman, child, and dog in the population, and we should spend on them twice as much money as we had. Scientific doomsday is therefore less than…” quote by Derek J. de Solla Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/derek-j-de-solla-price-77682_century_it-is-clear-that-we-cannot-go-up-another_3040731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/derek-j-de-solla-price-77682_century_it-is-clear-that-we-cannot-go-up-another_3040731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/derek-j-de-solla-price-77682_century_it-is-clear-that-we-cannot-go-up-another_3040731.jpg) > “It is clear that we cannot go up another two orders of magnitude as we have climbed the last five. If we did, we should have two scientists for every man, woman, child, and dog in the population, and we should spend on them twice as much money as we had. Scientific doomsday is therefore less than a century distant.” Derek J. de Solla Price ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exponential growth in scientific workforce cannot continue indefinitely; resource limits will cause a collapse within a century. **In simple terms:** Science cannot keep expanding forever. Key Takeaway Plan for sustainable research scales. Themes science growth resource limits future policy Mood concerned analytical Type cautionary predictive When to use this quote - research funding - education planning - policy making - technology development Key Concepts exponential growth resource scarcity population dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What alternative models could sustain scientific progress? - How can societies balance investment with realistic limits? A Different Perspective Assumes current trends stay constant; breakthroughs could alter trajectory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Doomsday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doomsday/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men & women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-women-2/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) ## Related quotes > [How did scientists get money in the past? They were either lucky and independently wealthy, like Darwin, or they had patrons, like Galileo. 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Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [We had the same doomsday people when we were building the MGM Grand, same people, same doomsday. You have to ask a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-kerkorian/we-had-the-same-doomsday-people-when-we-were-building-the-mgm-grand/) [Kirk Kerkorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-kerkorian/) > [Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/gee-i-wish-we-had-one-of-them-doomsday-machines-things/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) ## More by Derek J. de Solla Price > [Using any reasonable definition of a scientist, we can say that 80 to 90 percent of all the scientists that have ever lived are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-j-de-solla-price/using-any-reasonable-definition-of-a-scientist-we-can-say-that-80-to/) Derek J. de Solla Price > [Scientists have a strong urge to write papers but only a relatively mild one to read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-j-de-solla-price/scientists-have-a-strong-urge-to-write-papers-but-only-a-relatively/) Derek J. de Solla Price Explore all 3 Derek J. de Solla Price quotes ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. 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