Portal:Frogs/Science, culture, and economics articles

Science, culture, and economics articles 1

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A frog sitting on a saucepan handle

The boiling frog is an anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to threats that occur gradually, such as climate change.

According to contemporary biologists, the premise of the story is false: a frog submerged and gradually heated will jump out. However, some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true, provided the heating is sufficiently gradual. The story's common metaphorical use is a caution for people to be aware of even gradual change lest they suffer eventual undesirable consequences. (see more...)

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