Seeing the S-curve in everything

July 21, 2011 by Editor

S-curve (credit: Wikipedia)

The ubiquitous logistics S-curve (also known as the sigmoid function) has long been recognized by economists and scientists. Now professor Adrian Bejan at Duke University, with collaborator Sylvie Lorente from the University Toulouse, has developed a theory that explains the reason for the prevalence of this particular pattern throughout nature and the man-made world.

Economic trends, population growth, the spread of cancer, or the adoption of new technology seem to follow certain patterns, says Bejan. A new technology, for example, begins with slow acceptance, followed by explosive growth, only to level off before “hitting the wall.”/.../