You want to hire a temporary employee for one month. You offer him reasonable wages, but the employee suggests an alternative. For the first day of work, he will be paid a penny. For the second day, two pennies. For the third day, four pennies. The salary for each subsequent day will be double the previous day's, until the one month term is over. Ignoring the legalities of such a situation, would it be a good idea to accept the potential employee's proposal?

“It sounds like a good deal because he starts with a low amount.”

While the first day's pay is low, the exponential growth means the overall salary will become astronomically high, far exceeding any reasonable wage for a temporary position.

“He will only earn a few dollars by the end of the month.”

This guess miscalculates the exponential nature of the doubling pay. By the end of the month, the total will be in the millions, not just a few dollars.

“He will earn the same amount every day, which is manageable.”

The salary structure is not constant; it doubles every day. This leads to a rapidly increasing total that becomes unmanageable very quickly.