[kurthr]

I'll ask then. What happens to an organism when it stops growing?

It's an exponential process and there are really only 2 states except for an infinitesimally small space between.

[Fomite]

Most biological processes that apply to organisms aren't exponential, they're logistic. Which means when they stop growing, they're at steady state.

[uoaei]

The only "natural" organism that grows without attempting a quasi-stable, dynamic equilibrium with its environment is cancer. The exponential processes you refer to are not "natural" in the general sense and only represent the barest, simplest models.

[ramesh31]

We had thousands of years of economic equillibrium. It was a pretty rough time.

[3np]

I don't know about you, but I didn't start dying at 20.

[umeshunni]

You did. It's just taking a long time.

[kragen]

i'd probably be a lot healthier if i'd stopped growing about 20 years ago

[FactKnower69]

Good thing we live in an environment with infinite carrying capacity and natural resources, I could see things getting pretty dicey otherwise

[chii]

With technological improvement, new exploration and the infinite span of the universe, i don't see why the carrying capacity isn't infinite.