Rule of 78s

Biological Parallel

Semelparous species like Pacific salmon front-load all reproductive investment into a single catastrophic event—they extract maximum energy from future survival to fuel current reproduction. The Rule of 78s follows identical logic: accelerating payment toward present periods by treating future value as negligible, effectively 'dying' financially after the event. Bamboo flowering after 120 years demonstrates the same principle: gradual accumulation followed by explosive, front-loaded energy transfer that kills the parent. Both are mathematical expressions of discounting the future entirely in favor of present returns.