Paul Ehrlich recently passed away at 93. Trained as an entomologist focused on butterflies but gained wider fame as an advocate for population control. His 1968 book The Population Bomb warned of looming disaster caused by human population growth outstripping food production.

He forecast that during the 1970s, millions would perish from famine as humanity exhausted Earth’s resources. However, as events have shown, Ehrlich’s predicted population crisis never materialized. In fact, famine-related deaths have decreased even while the global population has surged dramatically.

Yet despite getting just about everything wrong, Ehrlich remained highly influential within environmentalist circles—receiving numerous awards and continuing to be cited as an expert. Paradoxically, the more his prophecies proved inaccurate, the more recognition he seemed to receive.