The Boiling Frog Theory on Population - 6400 Words

The Boiling Frog Theory on Population Systems thinkers have given us a useful metaphor for a certain kind of human behavior in the phenomenon of the boiled frog. The phenomenon is this. If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death. We all know stories of frogs being tossed into boiling water - for example, a young couple being plunged into catastrophic debt by an†¦show more content†¦Ethnologists, students of animal behavior, and a few philosophers who have considered the matter know that there is a form of ethics practiced in the community of life on this planet - apart from us, that is. This is a very practical (you might say Darwinian) sort of ethics, since it serves to safeguard and promote biological diversity within the community. According to this ethics, followed by every sort of creature within the community of life, sharks as well as sheep, killer bees as well as butterflies, you may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food. In other words, you may compete but you may not wage war. This ethics is violated at every point by practitioners of totalitarian agriculture. We hunt down our competitors , we destroy their food, and we deny them access to food. That indeed is the whole purpose and point of totalitarian agriculture. Totalitarian agriculture is based on the premise that all the food in the world belongs to us, and there is no limit whatever to what we may take for ourselves and deny to all others. Totalitarian agriculture was not adopted in our culture out of sheer meanness. It was adopted because, by its very nature, its more productive than any other style (and there are many other styles). Totalitarian agriculture represents productivity to the max, as Americans like to say. It representsShow MoreRelatedOrganizational Learning Disabilities2420 Words   |  10 PagesLearning Disabilities Senge identifies seven learning disabilities that affect organizational success. They are 1) I am my position, 2) The enemy is out there, 3) The illusion of taking charge, 4) The fixation of events, 5) The parable of the boiling frog, 6) The delusion of learning from experience, and 7) The myth of the management team. 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Boiling Billions of Frogs................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. iii The New S P – What a New Pope Can do for SustainabilityError! Bookmark not defined. Capitalism: It’s What We Got ......................Read MorePublic Fe Reference Handbook.Pdf46179 Words   |  185 PagesEngineering Economics A. Cost estimating B. Project selection C. Lease/buy/make D. Replacement analysis (e.g., optimal economic life) Application of Engineering Mechanics A. Stability analysis of beams, trusses, and frames B. Deï ¬â€šection analysis C. Failure theory (e.g., static and dynamic) D. Failure analysis (e.g., creep, fatigue, fracture, buckling) Engineering of Materials A. Material properties of: 1. metals 2. plastics 3. composites 4. concrete Fluids A. Basic hydraulics (e.g., Manning equation, Bernoulli