In general, new Hivers start with 0.001 HP. That doesn't sound like much, but there it is. For Hivers who earn Hive and HP solely from blogging and engaging, it can take a while to see decent gains in earnings. So here's a point to consider: What does 0.001 HP have in common with a grain of rice?
(This post is exclusive to Centblog.org.)
(It may be different for Hivers playing games like Splinterlands or Axie Infinity, or for Hivers earning in NFT Showroom, so I'm not including those situations.)
So it sounds like a dream come true to earn, say, 62,500 HP a day every day for 31 days. Who wouldn't want that stream of income? And if most of us are offered that option or the option of earning 0.001 HP and doubling that on Day 2 and doubling that on Day 3, etc., until reaching Day 31, it's understandable to stick with the 62,500 HP a day every day for 31 days.
0.001 HP can be compared to one grain of rice, and one grain of rice isn't enough for a piece of sushi (never mind a plate of rice with chicken). Even after some days, it doesn't seem like much rice (or HP)
But what happens to the HP as Day 31 approaches?
Just Look at the Math
Column 1 of the table below is there for reference. It's the same fixed rate earnings for each day.
Column 2 shows a running total of earnings through each day.
Column 3 shows the numbr of days. Normally this would be column 1, but it would have made rading each line of the table more difficult. I could have made 2 simpler tables (one for fixed rate earnings, one for 0.001 HP doubling each day for 31 days), but that could have been too much work both in Markdown and in HTML.
Columns 4 & 5 are similar to Columns 1 & 2, only they are for 0.001 HP doubling each day for 31 days.
Below is the table:
| Earnings (Fixed Rate) | Total for Day | Day | Earnings (2xYesterday) | Total for Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62,500 | 62,500 | 1 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| 62,500 | 125,000 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| 62,500 | 187,500 | 3 | 0.004 | 0.007 |
| 62,500 | 250,000 | 4 | 0.008 | 0.015 |
| 62,500 | 312,500 | 5 | 0.016 | 0.031 |
| 62,500 | 375,000 | 6 | 0.032 | 0.063 |
| 62,500 | 437,500 | 7 | 0.064 | 0.127 |
| 62,500 | 500,000 | 8 | 0.128 | 0.255 |
| 62,500 | 562,500 | 9 | 0.256 | 0.511 |
| 62,500 | 625,000 | 10 | 0.512 | 1.023 |
| 62,500 | 687,500 | 11 | 1.024 | 2.047 |
| 62,500 | 750,000 | 12 | 2.048 | 4.095 |
| 62,500 | 812,500 | 13 | 4.096 | 8.191 |
| 62,500 | 875,000 | 14 | 8.192 | 16.383 |
| 62,500 | 937,500 | 15 | 16.384 | 32.767 |
| 62,500 | 1,000,000 | 16 | 32.768 | 65.535 |
| 62,500 | 1,062,500 | 17 | 65.536 | 131.071 |
| 62,500 | 1,125,000 | 18 | 131.072 | 262.143 |
| 62,500 | 1,187,500 | 19 | 262.144 | 524.287 |
| 62,500 | 1,250,000 | 20 | 524.288 | 1,048.575 |
| 62,500 | 1,312,500 | 21 | 1,048.576 | 2,097.151 |
| 62,500 | 1,375,000 | 22 | 2,097.152 | 4,194.303 |
| 62,500 | 1,437,500 | 23 | 4,194.304 | 8,388.607 |
| 62,500 | 1,500,000 | 24 | 8,388.608 | 16,777.215 |
| 62,500 | 1,562,500 | 25 | 16,777.216 | 33,554.431 |
| 62,500 | 1,625,000 | 26 | 33,554.432 | 67,108.863 |
| 62,500 | 1,687,500 | 27 | 67,108.864 | 134,217.727 |
| 62,500 | 1,750,000 | 28 | 134,217.728 | 268,435.455 |
| 62,500 | 1,812,500 | 29 | 268,435.456 | 536,870.911 |
| 62,500 | 1,875,000 | 30 | 536,870.912 | 1,073,741.823 |
| 62,500 | 1,937,500 | 31 | 1,073,741.824 | 2,147,483.647 |
It's after Day 16 when there's enough rice for a piece of sushi, and by Day 19 there's enough rice for a plate of rice and chicken. In terms of HP, it's at a point where you're amazed a how it accumulated.
After Day 19, enough HP had been gained that you could branch off into other Hive activities such as DeFi, community creation, NFT auctions, upscaling your blog by using Engrave, and other activities I don't even know about.
By the end of Day 31, you'll have enough HP to cash out to buy 12 BTC or live of the earnings for years.
Conclusions
What does 0.001 HP have in common with a grain of rice? Both benefit from th power of exponentiation. Both benefit from the daily doubling of the previous's day's amount.
The situation I described above is just an exercise in math to show the difference between a fixed rate with a high value and an exponential increase starting with a trivial value.
It's also an example showing that sometimes we overlook some options at our peril.
Even if earnings only increase by a few percentage points each time period (rather than doubling each time period), it's just a matter of time before the math overpowers any concerns we have about not seeing gains for weeks after we begin that plan.
Even if the math doesn't show that initial 0.001 HP goes to the moon using daily doubling of HP earnings, it will still be enough to put you into Earth orbit or even achieve escape velocity.
I'm not saying don't take the high value fixed rate daily earnings. If you can get them, get them!!
However, I am saying to think through the implications of the plan where you start at 0.001HP. For 2 weeks it will feel miserable, and in week 3 you see the good stuff. By the end of Day 31, you'll be the one handing out 62,500 HP each day for 34 days to 1 Hiver, or for 1 day to 34 fellow Hivers.
