This exercise develops critical thinking and reading comprehension in an undergraduate ecology course. Students read and discuss an ecologically-based fictional narrative A Natural Process that promotes a critical analysis of the societal context of decision-making and interpretation of observations. The exercise aligns with Vision and Change’s Core Competency #5 Ability to Communicate and Collaborate with other Disciplines and #6 Ability to Understand the Relationship between Science and Society, and the human-environment interactions dimension of the 4DEE Framework. In A Natural Process, a boulder descends from an uphill construction site and obliterates a newly built home. The three-person construction team debate whether nature or humanity is to blame for the destruction. Students must critically evaluate and justify their subjective view of which character is “right” concerning who, if anyone, bears responsibility for the home’s destruction.
A more advanced take of the story is as an allegory for global climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic. One character makes a conceptual mental model that correctly predicted their actions would cause harm. A second character refutes the validity of the model by focusing on the very specific prediction that was not correct. This dynamic is an allegory for the relationship between climate modelers or epidemiologists and their detractors. The third character, the crew leader, is more complex and open to interpretation. She appears to be knowledgeable of their role in the disaster but still denies responsibility. I wrote her to represent those in power who know better but cannot bring themselves to accept blame.