on by Suzanne Whitby

The problem with talking about “tipping points”

Climate communicators (myself included) use the term “tipping points” to talk about the thresholds beyond which the Earth’s systems switch into new states, often abruptly and irreversibly. The point about talking about tipping points is to encourage action; the question is whether this phrase is helpful. An interesting read from Kate Yoder at Grist.

“Talking about tipping points, as scary as they are, might not inspire people to do something about climate change. That’s because fear is an unreliable motivator. It might be key to generating attention online, but it can too often leave people feeling defeated and disengaged.”
—Bob Kopp, Climate change and sea level rise researcher at Rutgers University

on by Suzanne Whitby

Why is 7 the magic number?

In 1956, cognitive psychologist George A. Miller of Harvard University’s Department of Psychology published a paper in the journal Psychological Review. Its title? “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information.”

I won’t go into depth into the content of the paper, although it is apparently one of the most highly cited papers in psychology. Suffice it to say that it suggests that the number of objects an average human can hold in short-term memory is “7 ± 2”. The so-called “Miller’s Law” tells us that humans can only process a finite amount of information (7 ± 2). If we overload people with more information than they can process, it will lead to cognitive overload and distraction.

I came across this article when I started my first communication consultancy, and it made me curious because, wearing my oral storytelling hat (I wear many hats), we talk about the magic number being three because so many elements in storytelling come in threes.

Is three the “real” magic number?

Consider: stories typically have a three-act structure (start, middle, end), often deal with past, present and future, and many fairy and folktales in the Western tradition have three repeated actions or character types – three sons, three princesses, three attempts to solve a problem. In writing and persuasive speaking, the “tricolon” rhetoric device creates powerful patterns that are memorable, engaging and influential.

I use both the “magical number seven” and the equally magical “number three” in my communication work and in my training. And yes, there are other “magical numbers” that I will ignore intentionally for now.

Who cares about magical numbers, and what do they have to do with Whitbys.org?

When I first started collecting interesting links, someone asked if I could share them. But I was finding so many! So I created a little newsletter called “7, plus or minus 2”. This continues to exist as a low-tech newsletter and a Substack.

In it, I share seven interesting “things” from my weekly wide-ranging reading and research. Plus or minus two. Weekly(ish).

You can sign up for the low-tech newsletter here, or for the Substack here.

on by Suzanne Whitby

Could African honeybees help to reduce tension between farmers and elephants loved by tourists?

The Elephants and Bees Project is an innovative study conducted by Save the Elephants that uses an in-depth understanding of elephant behaviour to reduce damage from crop-raiding elephants using their instinctive avoidance of African honey bees. The project explores the use of novel Beehive Fences as a natural elephant deterrent. The first project used the first design of a beehive fence using beautiful, traditional but old, log beehives. Two other projects followed and results show that crop-raiding of elephants has been successfully reduced in the beehive fence protected farms, plus an “Elephant-friend Honey” has resulted in social and economic books in poverty-stricken rural communities.

The Guardian has a wonderful gallery of images from the project, and you can read about the full study:  “Impact of Drought and Development on the Effectiveness of Beehive Fences as Elephant Deterrents Over Nine Years in Kenya” (Conservation Science and Practice).

Tony Karumba/Agence France Presse. The bee project helping to tackle elephant-human conflict in Kenya – in pictures
The bee project helping to tackle elephant-human conflict in Kenya – in pictures
Loved by tourists, elephants are, however, often loathed by farmers. A long-running project is using African honeybees to deter elephants, reducing clashes with humans
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www.theguardian.com

 

 

on by Suzanne Whitby

Does Space Need Environmentalists?

As humans “boldly go” (can’t beat a bit of Star Trek) space-wards to mine, settle and explore, Nathaniel Scharping asks whether we need a preemptive anti-mining campaign to protect our solar system from rampant exploitation before it is too late.

“As with national parks on Earth, planetary parks would prohibit mining or development, preserving the wilderness character of special places. We might even have a Planetary Park Service staffed by spacefaring nations.”
— Charles Cockell, Astrobiologist

on by Suzanne Whitby

Starlings on the street wires

Maria Popova’s wonder-filled exploration of birds and ornithological books during a time of uncertainty made my heart a bit lighter. She turned this into a card deck called, “An Almanac of Birds: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days”. I’m inspired to try a related card-creation project, but what?

“Birds I already knew and loved called out to me first: the bowerbird, the nightingale, the osprey. Then I began discovering strange and wondrous creatures I had never seen: the fierce frigate, the tender linnet, the Dr. Seussian snake-bird.”
— Maria Popova

An Almanac of Birds: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days. Copyright Maria Popova.

on by Suzanne Whitby

Playing with AI: Notes from #FacLab009

I run a regular gathering for facilitators to try out new tools, share knowledge and use our combined views of the world to help each other learn, grow and thrive. In February, a small group came together and I shared what I’ve learned, and they offered some reflections on AI and the future of facilitation.

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