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A further aspect of the Wheat on the Chessboard (also referred to as Rice on the Chessboard) mathematical problem is its presentation as a moral fable on sustainability. Its origin being claimed as both Indian and Persian has served to muddy the original intentions of the fable, but in doing so have provided a duality that furthers its purpose rather than limits. The fable appears to have sustained through history on it's mathematical basis demonstrating exponential growth through basic arithmetic and multiplication as well as more involved geometric progression and formulaic construction.

As a moral fable, the problem of Rice on a Chessboard is presented to warn of the dangers of treating the finite as infinite. While Rice on a Chessboard deals specifically with a finite, time and again it demonstrates that while the number of squares on the chessboard and the amount of rice or wheat are both finite, the end result will always be unacheivable. The path cannot be sustained. To 'pass the halfway point on the chessboard' would reference a specific choice by an individual or society that is no longer sustainable and requires immediate correction. Or as Carl Sagan said "Exponentials can't go on forever, because they will gobble up everything."1 The usage of Rice on a Chessboard as a moral fable about sustainability was re-ignited with the release in 1972 of "The Limits To Growth"2 where the story is referenced to present the unintended consequences of exponential growth. "Exponential growth never can go on very long in a finite space with finite resources"3

In "The Limits To Growth" the fable of Rice on a Chessboard is used in conjunction with the French Riddle 'The Lily On the Pond" to warn of response delays when faced with exponential growth resulting in a problem that is unmanageable. Both fables deal with exact math in set equations that should indicate eventual problems based on the chosen path, yet both speak to the surprise and suddeness when the problem is recognized, hence the reference to 'the halfway point'. This re-ignition of Rice on a Chessboard as a moral fable on sustainability and unintended consequences has resulted in usage of the fable to illustrate current issues with population growth, climate change, natural resource usage and even to connect all three.

1 (Thoughts On Life And Death At the Brink Of The Millenium)Copyright © 1997 by The Estate of Carl Sagan) http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jksadegh/A%20Good%20Atheist%20Secularist%20Skeptical%20Book%20Collection/carl%20sagan%20-%20billions%20and%20billions.pdf

2 Meadows, Donella H., Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. (1972) The Limits to Growth. New York: University Books. ISBN 0-87663-165-0

3 Meadows, Donella H., Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. (1972) The Limits to Growth. New York: University Books. ISBN 0-87663-165-0 Pg 24

Feed the Right Wolf (talk) 17:14, 26 January 2013 (UTC)