Many time this forum has solved many mysteries because we can put our collective brains together and form a so called super computer.
As you know I have been hashing the partaker numbers for over 1 year. Hashing and rehashing, trying to make sense of it all. I feel the partaker numbers are grossly underreported especially since 1980. Yet there are tell tale signs of the the published numbers as being authentic- a paradox .. Let me refer to the partaker numbers as the "curve".. This curve shows a marked increase in partakers just after 1969 with a peak at 1975 showing the naturally expected response to the end of world prediction for 1975. So this part of the curve from 1969 to 1975 and even as late as 1977 looks very legit. In other words, if the numbers were totally arbitrary the responce in the curve to the 1975 prediction would not have been there. So I think the WTS has reproduced the actual numbers as per pink slips for that time period (maybe?). Then things get weird. From about 1980 onward the curve flattens out which is not what you would expect.
There was 1 million JWs in 1963 with rapid growth after that. A certain percentage of JWs will tend to think they have the heavenly calling so the increase in partakers should be proportional to the increase in great crowd. The curve does not reflect this increase and as we all know the WTS must have underreported the numbers. I jhave done a lot of graphing of several scenarios in excel with varied results - the general conclusion being that the partakers were underreported. I still don't understand how some parts of the curve seem legit.
Maybe some of you could enlighten?