Boiling Frog

They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water,

it will leap out right away to escape the danger.

But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant,

and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling,

the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late.

The frog's survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.

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 creeping state surveillance. 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. This is a story that is used to illustrate how people might get themselves into terrible trouble. This parable is often used to illustrate how humans have to be careful to watch slowly changing trends in the environment, not just the sudden changes. It's a warning to keep us paying attention not just to obvious threats but to more slowly developing ones.


 * Other Versions:

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.