"How is it that people would rather burn in a house than run out into the street without pants?" Harald Welzer (a social psychologist from Germany) once asked. The answer to this very interesting question is certainly not that people were irrational or crazy. Instead, this episode shows that, from a certain perspective, something very understandable, almost normal, is happening here. But it also becomes clear why, precisely for this reason, good improvisation is so difficult in time-critical and dangerous situations. Find out why.
More information about the Mann Gulch fire:
Weick, K. E. (1996). Drop your tools: An allegory for organizational studies.Administrative Science Quarterly; June, 41, 2, S. 301- 313.
"How is it that people prefer to be burnt to death in a house, instead of running out into the street without their trousers on?" was asked by Harald Welzer, in his talk: Who Acts When and Why Not? Symposium "Out of the Blue. From Provisional to Improvisation", 27-29 October 2017, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, House of World Cultures, Berlin, p. 1, https://www.udk-berlin.de/fileadmin/2_dezentral/Forschung/FR_Postgraduales_Forum/Harald_Welzer_ENG_HKW_2017.pdf
Artistic director of the Symposium: Margit Schild
The german word "Schreckstarre" means "stiffness caused by fear" (PONS);
Späti, means Spätkauf, a late night corner shop common in Berlin.
Sound:
Ambiance_Fire_Bushes_Loop_Stereo.wav by Nox_Sound -- https://freesound.org/s/564621/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Musik:
diffusion by airtone (c) copyright 2022 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/airtone/64852