[OT] Boiling frogs

[Nick Sabalausky]

"Tomek Sowiñski" <just at ask.me> wrote in message 
news:op.vhplf7t5ot0hzo at las-miodowy...
Dnia 19-08-2010 o 23:19:13 Nick Sabalausky <a at a.a> napisa³(a):
>> I think it's been a bit of a "boiled frog" issue: Discussions tend to 
>> drift
>> off-topic just a *little* at a time, so we don't notice until they're
>> already a full-sized completely-offtopic discussion.
>
>Why slowly straying off topic is called "boiled frog"?

I've never tried it myself, but people say that if you put a frog in a pot 
of boiling water, it will hop out. But it you put it in cold water, and 
slowly bring it to a boil, it won't notice and it'll get cooked. It's a 
metaphor for how big changes are easily noticed, but many small gradual 
changes over time are difficult to notice.

Michael Abrash mentioned it in one of his books (Zen of Graphics 
Programming, IIRC).