Project Gutenberg 2015-12-25 Public domain in the USA. 863 MacLean, Katherine 1925 2019 Morris, G. A. MacLean, Katherine Anne Dye, Charles Emshwiller, Ed 1925 1990 Emsh Emsh, Ed Alexander, Ed Emshwiller, Edmund A. Willer EMSH The Snowball Effect Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction September 1952. Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Snowball Effect" by Katherine MacLean is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The book explores the concept of social dynamics through the lens of organizational growth, using a fictional university scenario to illustrate its themes. It probes the mechanisms by which small groups can grow exponentially and the unintended consequences that ensue from such growth. The story follows Mr. Halloway, the president of a university, as he engages with Professor Caswell, head of the Sociology Department, over the department's relevance and financial viability. Caswell's unique mathematical theories delve into the patterns of organizational growth, which he refers to as the "snowball effect." They decide to test this theory using a local sewing circle as an experimental group, instilling the elements of self-interest and recruitment to observe its expansion. As expected, the group grows rapidly and evolves into a more powerful organization, the Watashaw Mutual Trade and Civic Development Corporation, ultimately spiraling out of control and threatening to dominate society. This narrative serves as a thought-provoking examination of human motivation, ambition, and the complexities embedded in social structures. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 73.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories United States -- Fiction Universities and colleges -- Fiction Sociology -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Sociology Browsing: Teaching & Education Browsing: Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 56332 2025-06-20T12:10:17.883404 text/html 32469 2024-10-22T23:39:00 text/html 181047 2025-06-20T12:10:19.909410 application/epub+zip 179892 2025-06-20T12:10:18.319467 application/epub+zip 83719 2025-06-20T12:10:18.075406 application/epub+zip 217313 2025-06-20T12:10:21.296427 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 210645 2025-06-20T12:10:19.677469 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 114785 2022-09-23T05:30:36.964899 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 49288 2023-09-22T06:34:02.538693 text/plain 29462 2024-10-22T23:39:00 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18386 2025-06-20T12:10:21.446430 application/rdf+xml 26089 2025-06-20T12:10:18.155405 image/jpeg 4270 2025-06-20T12:10:18.115418 image/jpeg 163376 2025-06-20T12:10:17.898399 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia