Titanic effect

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Titanic effect (English Titanic effect ), named after the RMS Titanic , describes various phenomena that can in some way be associated with the shipwreck. The association can refer to causal mechanisms of the catastrophe, to its inevitable course or to its consequences.

Meanings

Here are some examples of the use of the term. For each item in the list, a sentence or part of a sentence is formulated at the beginning of what is meant by the Titanic Effect .

Mechanisms that lead to disaster

  • An unimaginable catastrophe can occur precisely because it is believed to be impossible.
  • The worst accidents often occur in systems that were believed to be completely safe.
  • Most of a problem that will lead to disaster is undetectable. Like most of the iceberg that caused the sinking of the Titanic , it was hidden underwater and not visible. In this case, the term Titanic Effect is associated with the iceberg model .
  • The self-deception of people who do not recognize or suppress their almost hopeless situation leads to catastrophe. (While the Titanic sank, the on-board orchestra played funny tunes.) Many people even suppress known or foreseeable major dangers, such as global warming or the extinction of species , with the attitude “It will be all right”.

The common feature in these cases is that people are not afraid or worried about a (possible or already occurring) disaster.

Unstoppable disaster or deterioration

  • the unstoppability of (e.g. political or economic) decline, decline or demise
  • a steady deterioration in brain functions, e.g. B. the ability to speak fluently or to think orderly. In this case, it is a technical term in cognitive science .

Fear of catastrophe has fatal consequences

  • The fear of a repetition of an impressive catastrophe can lead to a comparatively small danger becoming a greater danger or even a disaster. The US-American literature professor Stephen D. Cox described how the passengers in the wreck of the Costa Concordia urged the crew to lower the lifeboats despite the extreme inclination and the only short distance from land, out of inadequate fear of a disaster such as the sinking of the Titanic led to more panic and disorganization during the evacuation and increased the danger. Cox also cited an earlier example of this type of Titanic effect: in response to the sinking of the Titanic, the US government had legislated that all large ships had sufficient lifeboats. The first significant effect of this measure was that the steamer Eastland , which had lost stability due to being loaded with lifeboats, capsized in the Chicago River . 844 people died in the accident.

Unlike the cases in the former group, in this case people are too scared.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerald M. Weinberg: The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully. Dorset House Publishing, 1986, ISBN 978-0932633019 . Quote: " The thought that disaster is impossible often leads to an unthinkable disaster ." (Quoted in John D. Cook: The Titanic Effect , Oct. 18, 2010.)
  2. ↑ Examples from shipping with Stephan Cramer: Riskier sailing: Innovative security systems in the 19th century and their unintended consequences using the example of north-west German sailing. Hauschild, Bremen, ISBN 978-3-89757-355-0
  3. ^ Nancy Leveson : Titanic Effect , February 22, 1986. Quotation: "the worst accidents often occur in systems which are thought to be completely safe".
  4. ↑ The Titanic Syndrome: Iceberg Ahead! The iceberg model in the personnel selection persolog-blog.de
  5. ↑ Markus Zimmermann ( Ecopop ), 2003: Earth's carrying capacity . Quote: “The Titanic effect 'it will be fine' has been largely overcome in our relationship with mechanical systems, as we were able to learn from various incidents. Unfortunately, the Titanic Effect still seems to predominate in the natural ecosystem. "
  6. ↑ Example sentence ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , quoted at mydict.com @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mydict.com
  7. ↑ Catherine Crenshaw Price, et al .: Towards an operational definition of bradyphrenia II: The 'Titanic Effect' in verbal fluency. Presented at the Sigma Xi Drexel University MCP / Hahnemann University Research Synergies Symposium, May 1999.
  8. ↑ Joel Eppig et al .: Dysexecutive functioning in mild cognitive impairment: derailment in temporal gradients. In: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS. Volume 18, number 1, January 2012, pp. 20-28, doi : 10.1017 / S1355617711001238 , PMID 22014116 , PMC 3315354 (free full text). Quote: “This negative slope or precipitous and continuous decline in test performance […] is termed the 'Titanic Effect.'” In a footnote: “The Titanic Effect is a reference to ill-fated voyage of 1912. […] Thus , the trajectory of the Titanic is analogous to the negative slope or precipitous decline in performance observed among patients with dysexecutive impairment. "
  9. ↑ Stephen Cox: The Titanic Effect lewrockwell.com, January 20, 2012. Quotation: “telling yourself that every accident is like the Titanic is an excellent way to produce a Titanic-scale disaster”.