What is Boil The Frog?

John Spacey, November 17, 2017

Boil the frog is a metaphor based on a story about a frog. If you put the frog directly into hot water it will immediately escape. If you put it in temperate water and slowly heat it to a boil, the frog will not escape. The metaphor is that people may accept negative change that occurs slowly that they would strongly oppose if it occurred suddenly. The following are hypothetical examples.

Pollution

If a city transitioned from fresh air to polluted air overnight, there might be outrage at the cause. When this transition occurs over decades, opposition might potentially be muted.

Quality of Life

If a university system doubled fees overnight, there would likely be opposition. If they gradually double fees over five years, it may be accepted.

Health

Dramatic increases in the prevalence of diseases such as diabetes that occur over decades might be taken more seriously if they occurred instantaneously.

Notes

It is not true that frogs will not escape being slowly boiled. They tend to jump out around 25° Celsius or 77° Fahrenheit. The story may originate with a 1869 experiment by Friedrich Goltz in which a frog didn't jump out of slowly boiled water. The important detail omitted from the story is that the frog in the experiment had its brain removed.

Overview: Boil The Frog
Type	Creeping Normality
Definition (1)	A metaphor for creeping normality based on a story about a frog who will not jump out of boiling water if it is heated slowly.
Definition (2)	A strategy that involves doing something slowly that would never be accepted if it were done quickly.
Related Concepts	Creeping Normality » Metaphor » Pollution » Air Quality » Strategy »