  Growth of the world population and the world economic growth were hyperbolic
in the past 2,000,000 years. Recently, from around 1950, they started to be
diverted to slower trajectories but they are still close to the historical
hyperbolic trajectories. Regional growth of population and regional economic
growth were also hyperbolic. Hyperbolic growth can be slow over a long time and
fast over a short time but it is still the same, monotonically increasing,
growth. It is incorrect to interpret slow growth as stagnation and fast growth
as explosion, each controlled by different mechanisms of growth. Hyperbolic
growth has to be interpreted as a whole and the same mechanism has to be
applied to the slow and to the fast growth. The Anthropocene is characterised
by the rapid growth of population, rapid economic growth and rapid consumption
of natural resources. The origin of the Anthropocene can be explained as the
natural consequence of hyperbolic growth. However, while its dramatic impacts
became apparent only recently its starting point cannot be mathematically
determined. Its beginning could be traced to the dawn of the existence of
hominines. Its future is insecure because it is dictated by many critical
trends shaping the future or our planet, but notably because the size of the
world population is predicted to continue to increase at least until the end of
the current century to a possibly unsustainable level and because the world
economic growth follows now an unsustainable trajectory.
