329:
31:
285:
yet take place at such a rate as to be fairly called 'gradual', it will not secure the response of the normal frog under any circumstances". Goltz had raised the temperature of the water from 17.5 °C to 56 °C in about ten minutes, or 3.8 °C per minute, in his experiment, whereas
Heinzmann heated the frogs over the course of 90 minutes from about 21 °C to 37.5 °C, a rate of less than 0.2 °C per minute.
112:. It is also used in business to reinforce that change needs to be gradual to be accepted. The term "boiling frog syndrome" is a metaphor used to describe the failure to act against a problematic situation which will increase in severity until reaching catastrophic proportions. It thereby encapsulates the barely noticeable impact of slow
675:
The frog dropped into boiling water has sense to leap out, but the frog dropped into cold water can be cooked to death before he realizes he is in serious trouble. So it is with us
Americans and our civilization in this mounting crisis. We must beware of those who want to thaw the cold war out at any
80:
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
284:
said that the apparent contradiction between the results of these experiments was a consequence of different heating rates used in the experiments: "The truth appears to be that if the heating be sufficiently gradual, no reflex movements will be produced even in the normal frog; if it be more rapid,
236:
has been advocating since 2006 for people to stop retelling the story, describing it as a "stupid canard" and a "myth". After
Krugman's column appeared, however, he declared "peace on the boiled frog front" and said that using the story is acceptable if the writer points out that it is not literally
746:
This is not an experiment I wish to commend, but it has lessons for another animal—ourselves. If drastic change takes place abruptly, we notice and react to it. If it takes place gradually, over a few generations, we are hardly aware of it, and by the time that we are ready to react, it can be too
276:
Other 19th-century experiments were purported to show that frogs did not attempt to escape gradually heated water. An 1872 experiment by
Heinzmann was said to show that a normal frog would not attempt to escape if the water was heated slowly enough, which was corroborated in 1875 by Fratscher.
54:. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a
293:(1897): "a live frog can actually be boiled without a movement if the water is heated slowly enough; in one experiment the temperature was raised at a rate of 0.002°C per second, and the frog was found dead at the end of 2½ hours without having moved."
316:
for many frog species has been determined by contemporary research experiments: as the water is heated by about 2 °F (about 1 °C), per minute, the frog becomes increasingly active as it tries to escape, and eventually jumps out if it can.
304:, said, "If you put a frog in boiling water, it won't jump out. It will die. If you put it in cold water, it will jump before it gets hot—they don't sit still for you." George R. Zug, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the
61:
While some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true if the heating is sufficiently gradual, according to modern biologists the premise is false: changing location is a natural
783:
We are not inclined to notice gradual changes. This is how most partners adapt to verbal abuse. They slowly adapt until, like frog number two, they are living in an environment which is killing to their
689:
Recchia, Cammille (25 August 1980). "Area
Survivalists Circle Wagons for Coming Armageddon; Survivalists Prepare to Ride Out Armageddon; Fearing Economic Chaos, Advocates Store Food, Buy Gold, Silver".
698:
That's what's happening to us. Things are getting worse and worse, so we don't really notice what's happening. Whatever happens will happen slowly, and we won't have time to jump out.
70:, and is necessary for survival in the wild. A frog that is gradually heated will jump out. Furthermore, a frog placed into already boiling water will die immediately, not jump out.
253:. It describes a hypothetical heap of sand from which individual grains are removed one at a time, and asks if there is a specific point when it can no longer be defined as a heap.
1038:
The art of frog-boiling is an ancient one, and the correct procedure will emerge in the course of considering an ancient puzzle, the so-called 'Paradox of the Heap' or
Sorites.
308:, also rejected the suggestion, saying that "If a frog had a means of getting out, it certainly would get out." In 2002, Victor H. Hutchison, a retired zoologist at the
261:
During the 19th century, several experiments were performed to observe the reaction of frogs to slowly heated water. In 1869, while doing experiments searching for the
1214:
543:
104:
cautioning people to be aware of even gradual change lest they suffer eventual undesirable consequences. It may be invoked in support of a
127:
The story has been retold many times and used to illustrate widely varying viewpoints: in 1960 about warning against those who wished for
262:
620:
305:
805:
776:
58:
for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly.
456:
428:
312:
with a research interest in thermal relations of amphibians, said that "The legend is entirely incorrect!" He described how a
168:
spends a chapter on the metaphor of the boiling frog, using it to describe human history, population growth and food surplus.
710:
Tickell, Crispin (1990). "Human
Effects of Climate Change: Excerpts from a Lecture Given to the Society on 26 March 1990".
1000:
975:
948:
81:
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.
273:
removed will remain in slowly heated water, but an intact frog attempted to escape the water when it reached 25 °C.
196:. In the movie version the frog is rescued before it is harmed. This use of the story was referenced by writer/director
1204:
1054:
232:
used the story as a metaphor in a July 2009 column, while pointing out that real frogs behave differently. Journalist
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commented in 2003 that regardless of the behavior of real frogs, the boiling frog story is useful as a
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364:
27:
Metaphor for the inability of people to properly react to significant changes that occur gradually
1113:
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109:
34:
A frog sitting on the handle of a saucepan on a hot stove. The frog in this photo was unharmed.
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1094:"Ueber die Wirkung sehr allmäliger Aenderungen thermischer Reize auf die Empfindungsnerven"
825:
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266:
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1168:"On the variation of reflex excitability in the frog induced by changes of temperature"
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Modern scientific sources report that the alleged phenomenon is not real. In 1995,
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136:
30:
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in reference to the accumulating warning signs of the volcano's reawakening.
1033:
67:
17:
763:
The
Verbally Abusive Relationship: How To Recognize it and How to Respond
214:
132:
101:
55:
43:
903:
883:
833:
1109:
875:
596:
179:
128:
1172:
Studies from the
Biological Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University
1098:
Pflügers Archiv für die gesamte
Physiologie des Menschen und der Tiere
741:
135:; in 1980 about the impending collapse of civilization anticipated by
1178:. Baltimore, Maryland: N. Murray, Johns Hopkins University: 385–410.
1093:
588:
733:
270:
249:, the boiling frog story has been used as a way of explaining the
225:
172:'s character Harry Dalton mentioned it in the 1997 disaster movie
29:
47:
542:. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia.
676:
cost. We may be cooked before we realize what has happened.
667:
Trohan, Walter (6 June 1960). "Report from Washington".
1018:
Goldstein, Laurence (2000). "How to boil a live frog".
976:"The boiled-frog myth: hey, really, knock it off!"
760:
536:"The Legend of the Boiling Frog is Just a Legend"
100:The boiling frog story is generally offered as a
573:(2003). "The Mechanisms of the Slippery Slope".
457:"How to subsidize contributions to public goods"
450:
448:
446:
186:op-ed, in his presentations and the 2006 movie
78:
486:
484:
501:
499:
200:in the title of his 2010 comedic documentary
139:; in the 1990s about inaction in response to
8:
1143:Scripture, Edward Wheeler Scripture (1897).
1149:. W. Scott Publishing Company. p. 300.
949:"The boiled-frog myth: stop the lying now!"
796:Quinn, Daniel (1996). "The Boiling Frog".
529:
527:
507:"Next Time, What Say We Boil a Consultant"
269:demonstrated that a frog that has had its
1028:(266). Oxford University Press: 170–178.
1130:
1079:
565:
563:
561:
490:
411:
851:"An Ecological Kristallnacht. Listen"
767:. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media. p.
431:from the original on 27 February 2023
217:, comparing it to the metaphor of an
7:
974:Fallows, James (16 September 2006).
455:Offerman, Theo (February 12, 2010).
209:Law professor and legal commentator
546:from the original on August 1, 2017
534:Gibbons, Whit (December 23, 2007).
306:National Museum of Natural History
151:to warn about the slow erosion of
25:
219:ostrich with its head in the sand
182:used a version of the story in a
1001:"Peace on the boiled frog front"
999:Fallows, James (July 13, 2009).
327:
849:Gore, Albert (March 19, 1989).
623:from the original on 2015-09-10
221:. Economics Nobel laureate and
1215:Metaphors referring to animals
642:"Classics: Shifting baselines"
346:, a story with similar meaning
108:argument as a caution against
1:
289:recounted this conclusion in
66:strategy for frogs and other
1055:"Guest-post wisdom on frogs"
919:Krugman, Paul (2009-07-13).
192:to describe ignorance about
800:. Random House Publishing.
147:. It has also been used by
116:that has been described by
1236:
902:(Writer/director) (2010).
380:Foot-in-the-door technique
164:, environmentalist author
86:Version of the story from
908:(Motion picture). Canada.
419:Lee, James (2 May 2010).
282:William Thompson Sedgwick
114:environmental degradation
759:Evans, Patricia (1996).
713:The Geographical Journal
395:Frogs in popular culture
314:critical thermal maximum
287:Edward Wheeler Scripture
257:Experiments and analysis
1034:10.1111/1467-8284.00220
611:"boiling frog syndrome"
1092:Heinzmann, A. (1872).
888:(Motion picture). USA.
838:(Motion picture). USA.
310:University of Oklahoma
265:, German physiologist
83:
35:
885:An Inconvenient Truth
646:ConservationBytes.com
511:Fast Company Issue 01
400:Scorpion and the frog
189:An Inconvenient Truth
145:abusive relationships
33:
263:location of the soul
882:(Director) (2006).
726:1990GeogJ.156..325T
693:The Washington Post
616:The Free Dictionary
365:First they came ...
1205:Cruelty to animals
1146:The New Psychology
1110:10.1007/BF01612252
925:The New York Times
921:"Boiling the Frog"
905:How to Boil a Frog
855:The New York Times
648:. 14 February 2011
576:Harvard Law Review
350:Creeping normality
302:Harvard University
291:The New Psychology
203:How to Boil a Frog
158:In the 1996 novel
122:shifting baselines
110:creeping normality
36:
1200:Cognitive inertia
1164:Sedgwick, William
947:(13 March 2007).
832:(Writer) (1997).
469:on March 26, 2016
370:Shifting baseline
300:, a biologist at
16:(Redirected from
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1157:Cited references
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1053:(21 July 2009).
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619:. Farlex. 2015.
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583:(4): 1026–1137.
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462:. Archived from
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64:thermoregulation
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720:(3): 325–329 .
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385:Sorites paradox
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267:Friedrich Goltz
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251:sorites paradox
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153:civil liberties
143:and staying in
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822:Pierce Brosnan
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798:The Story of B
788:
777:
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734:10.2307/635534
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696:. p. C1.
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571:Volokh, Eugene
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523:
513:. October 1995
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375:Slippery slope
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360:Salami tactics
357:
355:Overton window
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322:
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298:Douglas Melton
258:
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242:
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223:New York Times
194:global warming
184:New York Times
170:Pierce Brosnan
161:The Story of B
141:climate change
106:slippery slope
93:The Story of B
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72:
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1166:(July 1888).
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1133:, p. 394
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1131:Sedgwick 1888
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1082:, p. 390
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1051:James Fallows
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673:. p. 2.
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491:Sedgwick 1888
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241:In philosophy
240:
238:
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234:James Fallows
231:
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220:
216:
212:
211:Eugene Volokh
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1175:
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1101:
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1075:
1064:. Retrieved
1060:The Atlantic
1058:
1045:
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1019:
1013:
1005:The Atlantic
1004:
994:
983:. Retrieved
980:The Atlantic
979:
969:
958:. Retrieved
954:The Atlantic
952:
939:
928:. Retrieved
924:
914:
904:
894:
884:
870:
858:. Retrieved
854:
844:
835:Dante's Peak
834:
830:Leslie Bohem
828:(Director),
816:
797:
791:
782:
762:
754:
745:
717:
711:
705:
697:
691:
683:
674:
668:
662:
650:. Retrieved
645:
636:
625:. Retrieved
614:
605:
580:
574:
548:. Retrieved
539:
515:. Retrieved
510:
471:. Retrieved
464:the original
433:. Retrieved
424:
414:
344:Camel's nose
335:Frogs portal
295:
290:
279:
275:
260:
244:
230:Paul Krugman
222:
208:
201:
187:
183:
175:Dante's Peak
173:
166:Daniel Quinn
159:
157:
149:libertarians
137:survivalists
126:
118:Daniel Pauly
99:
91:
88:Daniel Quinn
84:
79:
60:
52:boiled alive
40:boiling frog
39:
37:
1104:: 222–236.
900:Jon Cooksey
550:January 19,
473:December 5,
435:27 February
390:Gaslighting
198:Jon Cooksey
131:during the
74:As metaphor
18:Boiled frog
1189:Categories
1066:2009-07-22
985:2009-06-24
960:2009-06-27
930:2010-04-26
878:(Writer),
687:Quoted in
627:2021-02-28
517:2017-08-01
407:References
247:philosophy
68:ectotherms
280:In 1888,
1118:43608630
1021:Analysis
824:(Star),
652:23 March
621:Archived
544:Archived
540:Ecoviews
429:Archived
421:"Escape"
321:See also
215:metaphor
133:Cold War
102:metaphor
56:metaphor
44:apologue
876:Al Gore
784:spirit.
722:Bibcode
597:1342743
228:writer
180:Al Gore
129:detente
1116:
860:14 Sep
804:
775:
742:635534
740:
595:
425:Flickr
237:true.
42:is an
1114:S2CID
747:late.
738:JSTOR
593:JSTOR
467:(PDF)
460:(PDF)
271:brain
226:op-ed
862:2015
802:ISBN
773:ISBN
654:2022
552:2021
475:2012
437:2023
48:frog
38:The
1106:doi
1030:doi
769:111
730:doi
718:156
585:doi
581:116
245:In
120:as
90:'s
1191::
1174:.
1170:.
1112:.
1100:.
1096:.
1057:.
1036:.
1026:60
1024:.
1003:.
978:.
951:.
923:.
853:.
781:.
771:.
744:.
736:.
728:.
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644:.
613:.
591:.
579:.
560:^
538:.
526:^
509:.
498:^
483:^
445:^
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423:.
206:.
155:.
124:.
1176:2
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1108::
1102:6
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988:.
963:.
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864:.
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