Sadly, the exponential curve also applies to various non-technology problems. It is very important for a world changer and society to notice these patterns before it hits the inflection point, vulgarly best known as: shit hit the fan. For example, before the day a war starts, there were lots of warning signs, quite often ignored by the population at large. The inflection point, is the day a war starts, someone dies, an accident happens, someone starves, a building falls, cancer goes rampant, etc.

To most people, the exponential inflection points are quite deceptive, since all they see are linear curves, when in fact they are exponential. Ageing for example is exponential, though it often deceives us all under the illusion that it is linear. [U]Many problems have the appearance of being linear when in fact they are exponential. [/U] Ocean, forest depletion, city crimes, bad governments, over population, are all percolating problems barely noticed until they hit the inflection point.

[B]What can we do to prevent negative inflection points?[/B]

Well programmed computers monitoring systems can look at the data and make accurate prediction. Like weather programs now do now, which presently predict weather with a good degree of accuracy three days in advance. The same can be done for a wide array of potential problems by modeling the entire worlds resources. For example, the worldwide lack of circulating money could have been prevented well in advance before it became a problem. The dealt of 60+ million people starving in China just a few decades ago, the death in Africa recently of 20+ million people; something that was covered by only one reporter. And even earthquakes can be now predicted with 100% accuracy, for a mere $18M

Identifying a problem, and predicting the date when it will hit the exponential curve inflection point is quite doable, doing something to prevent the catastrophic event from taking place is subject for another discussion.

The idea, well here you have it, the scientist to do it are quite available, the technology needless to say it is also quite available, what has been lacking is only funding, and that too will be a in the past.