"POPULATION IS GROWING" SAYING (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

I see several undocumented attributions to Arthur C. Clarke; one to
George Bernard Shaw.

Also as "Wright's Axiom" ("The sum of the intelligence on the planet is
a constant, but the population is growing." _Greatest Jokes of the
Century Book 10_ by Thomas F. Shubnell, 2008, p. 105)

and "Harvard's Second Law" ("The sum of intelligence on the planet is a
constant; the population is growing." in _Peter's people_ By Laurence J.
Peter, 1979 p. 194) (No results from searching Harvard Crimson Archives)

Some variant is in _Murphy's Law and Other Reasons Why Things go Wrong_
by Arthur Bloch, 1977 (partial preview from Google Books:  "Mr. Cole's
Axiom:  The sum of the intelligence on the planet is . . .", p.84).

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Shapiro, Fred
> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 7:27 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: "POPULATION IS GROWING" SAYING
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> --------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      "POPULATION IS GROWING" SAYING
>
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> --------
>
> I would welcome any help in tracing origins or early use of the
> following saying:
>
> "The intelligence of the planet is constant, and the population is
> growing."
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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