THE CONVERSATION: The world now has 8 billion people – how evolution made it happen

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Only insect populations can compare to rising human numbers.

Legend has it that the king of Chemakasherri, which is in modern-day India, loved to play chess and challenged a travelling priest to a game. The king asked him what prize he would like if he won. The priest only wanted some rice. But this rice had to be counted in a precise way, with a single grain on the first square of the board, two on the second, four on the third, and so on. This seemed reasonable, and the wager was set.

When the king lost, he told his servants to reward his guest as agreed. The first row of eight squares held 255 grains, but by the end of the third row, there were over 16.7 million grains. The king offered any other prize instead: even half his kingdom. To reach the last square he would needIn the beginning

 

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