The 3.5% rule

[AnonEMouse]

We've all heard about the 4% rule, but how many have heard of the 3.5% rule?

"Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change."

BBC - Future - The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world

Thought it was an interesting read. How many clicked on this thread thinking it was a variation of the 4% withdrawal rule - even though it's on the "other topics" forum?

 

[ER Eddie]

How many clicked on this thread thinking it was a variation of the 4% withdrawal rule - even though it's on the "other topics" forum?

Me.

 

[calmloki]

small things can bring about change - or as the Dalai Lama says:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7777-if-you-think-you-are-too-small-to-make-a

 

[Sunset]

I thought it was the 3.5% withdrawal rule, which is my target.

 

[Dtail]

Me.

+1
I do love the WR% discussions though.

 

[Mdlerth]

I must be one of the 3.5% who don't represent anything

How many clicked on this thread thinking it was a variation of the 4% withdrawal rule - even though it's on the "other topics" forum?

At least one: me.

But since I don't filter threads based on which forum it appears in, I may not be typical of the population.

 

[OldShooter]

Me. I just click the button to search for new posts and pay zero attention to the forum name.

 

[RunningBum]

How many clicked on this thread thinking it was a variation of the 4% withdrawal rule - even though it's on the "other topics" forum?

Well, you did mislead us with a partial title.

 

[ER Eddie]

Me. I just click the button to search for new posts and pay zero attention to the forum name.

Me too.

 

[ER Eddie]

So if we get 3.5% of the members together, we can stage a coup, overthrow the admins, and take control of er.org. That's what I'm hearing.

 

[brewer12345]

So if we get 3.5% of the members together, we can stage a coup, overthrow the admins, and take control of er.org. That's what I'm hearing.

No, that would be a violent conflict. But if you sit around and whine loudly about the state of the world...

 

[unclemick]

So if we get 3.5% of the members together, we can stage a coup, overthrow the admins, and take control of er.org. That's what I'm hearing.

Nope. Sounds too much like WORK!

heh heh heh - frankly I'm against it.

 

[AnonEMouse]

So if we get 3.5% of the members together, we can stage a coup, overthrow the admins, and take control of er.org. That's what I'm hearing.

Well, the article does say nonviolent, so coup would be out of the question.

3.5% sounds small, but the absolute numbers are large. In the U.S., for example, we'd need 11+ million people to actively participate to precipitate change. Pretty hard to do when most people's idea of "involvement" is clicking a link.

 

[AnonEMouse]

Well, you did mislead us with a partial title.

Well, I can't take all the credit - that was the BBC's title.

 

[Bir48die]

So kind of on topic when you look at the same sex marriage movement it's around that percentage of gay people that this similar percentage ended up moving the needle to legalize. I'm not including the other letters that encompass LBGTQ...... that might push it to 5%. However it proves a significant minority can push the majority to a decision.

 

[foxfirev5]

So if we get 3.5% of the members together, we can stage a coup, overthrow the admins, and take control of er.org. That's what I'm hearing.

Yeah, but 3.5% of our members are 3.5% of nothin. It's tough being an outlier like this group. I like to think I have a keen eye for the obvious.

 

[triangle]

Sounds a bit like tyranny of the minority as expressed by Taleb:
https://medium.com/incerto/the-most...ctatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15

Though if 3.5% were actively protesting something, surely the actual support of that measure is much higher.