Quotes from Thomas C. Schelling

Numerous social phenomena display cyclical behavior, either in wave motion or in surges. The thermostat reminds us to look for the time lag, or for an accumulated inventory like the hot water.

When the supply at last gets back to normal, some years hence, replenishment will be at an abnormally low level, with a "famine" that will get worse for at least six years before it can begin to get better. And then the cycle can start over.

It enhances one's appreciation of a model, and often the use one can make of it, to be aware of applications outside one's own field. Recognition of the wide applicability of a model, or of a family of models, helps in recognizing that one is dealing with a very general or basic phenomenon, not something specialized or idiosyncratic or unique.

But it often looks as though the interest was there. The thing petered out in spite of interest. Nearly everybody, if asked, alleges that he'd have continued attending pretty regularly if enough others had cared enough to attend regularly enough to make it worthwhile

Or, it goes the way of the dying seminar—fun but not enough fun, because there are not enough people to generate the loyalty and enthusiasm that would keep the number large and the absentee rate small.

What is common to all of these examples is the way people's behavior depends on how many are behaving a particular way, or how much they are behaving that way—how many attend the seminar how frequently