In 1954, Canadian artist Alex Colville finished what is probably his most famous painting. Horse and Train. Set against a stark, surrealistic background, the painting depicts a horse galloping down the middle of the railroad tracks toward an oncoming train. Colville's painting is subject to many interpretations, but whether the horse and the train symbolize instinct versus rationality, nature versus man, or ecology versus technology, the artist warns that unless something intervenes to alter the course, tragedy is imminent.

In 1972, the appearance of the book The Limits to Growth unleashed a controversy concerning the future of the planet. Commissioned by the Club of Rome and conducted by researchers/authors Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis Meadows, and William W. Behrens III, the project applied systems dynamics and computer modeling to simulate 12 scenarios based on the interactions of population, food production, industrial production, pollution, and consumption of non-renewable natural resources. Using the World3 computer model developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the authors projected the implications of the data input and concluded that if human society continued on the path of exponential growth, unrestrained consumption and resource exploitation, the planet's physical carrying capacity would be exceeded by the middle of the twenty-first century. The only way humanity could avoid inevitable collapse was to reduce its ecological footprint through far-reaching technological, cultural, and institutional changes. Although their predictions appeared dire, they believed that disaster was avoidable. They warned, however, that unless people and policy makers tackled the underlying causes of the problem - and the sooner the better- the less likely they would be to turn things around. The Limits to Growth's explicit message provoked strong reactions. Economist, politicians, and industrialists were outraged at the suggestion that people should have to impose constraints on their pursuit of growth, and more growth. Since the Industrial Revolution, growth has been driving the global socio economic system, and to this day, growth is still equated with progress, profit, improvement, prosperity, and success. To question growth, let alone challenge the corporate world's quest for unlimited profit, was next to heresy. Those who didn't deny The Limits to Growth's findings tried to debunk the team's methodology or disseminate scare stories based on misrepresentations and misinterpretations of the book's conclusions. One example is the false claim that the authors predicted global collapse by the end of the twentieth century.

Fill in the blank with the appropriate meaning from the options given below:

______ is synonymous to exponential.

Rate of increase

The correct answer is Option (3) → Rate of increase

Exponential growth refers to a rapid and continuously increasing rate, making "Rate of increase" the correct choice.

Here's why:

* **Decrease:** This is the opposite of increase.
* **Fall:** This implies a decrease.
* **Rate of increase:** This directly corresponds to the meaning of exponential, which signifies a rapid and significant increase.
* **Exterior:** This refers to the outer surface and has no connection to rate of increase.

"Rate of increase" best captures the essence of exponential growth, which is a fast-paced and often dramatic rise in something.