math and Elven populations

galadriel · 03-20-2002, 06:50 PM

This is a ridiculous question, but it has been bothering me.

In Middle-earth, Elves have two primary means of population control: going over Sea, and the occasional war. However, neither of these are applicable to their relatives in the West. Sure, there was the first Kinslaying and casualities from the war that destroyed Beleriand (Finarfin and Ingwe led their people to fight, remember?) but since then, everything's been grand.

Take, for instance, a population of 100 elves. Assuming that, say, 80% of them get married (I have no idea if this is a reasonable estimation, but it works), and each couple has an average of two children, you have a net total of 80 children. In turn, 80% of the new generation gets married and has children. The numbers get weird from there, since there can be intermarriage between generations, but my point is, this process would repeat iself endlessly. Eventually, wouldn't even a slow rate of reproduction create quite a large population?

Since there is not just 100 elves in the West, but thousands, wouldn't they start running into overpopulation problems?

Just how big is Aman, anyway?

No need to take my question over-seriously. Any insight would be interesting, though.

03-20-2002, 06:50 PM	#1
galadriel Elven Warrior Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: a castle made of clouds Posts: 459	math and Elven populations This is a ridiculous question, but it has been bothering me. In Middle-earth, Elves have two primary means of population control: going over Sea, and the occasional war. However, neither of these are applicable to their relatives in the West. Sure, there was the first Kinslaying and casualities from the war that destroyed Beleriand (Finarfin and Ingwe led their people to fight, remember?) but since then, everything's been grand. Take, for instance, a population of 100 elves. Assuming that, say, 80% of them get married (I have no idea if this is a reasonable estimation, but it works), and each couple has an average of two children, you have a net total of 80 children. In turn, 80% of the new generation gets married and has children. The numbers get weird from there, since there can be intermarriage between generations, but my point is, this process would repeat iself endlessly. Eventually, wouldn't even a slow rate of reproduction create quite a large population? Since there is not just 100 elves in the West, but thousands, wouldn't they start running into overpopulation problems? Just how big is Aman, anyway? No need to take my question over-seriously. Any insight would be interesting, though. __________________ Human kind cannot bear very much reality. dreamflower - for all things Lady Galadriel