Name: Discussion Topic: The Catfish Effect - aka A Kick Up The Bum
Start: 2026-01-09T18:30:00+10:30
End: 2026-01-09T20:00:00+10:30
Location: Myer Centre Adelaide

Discussion Topic: The Catfish Effect - aka A Kick Up The Bum

Competition, or the lack of it, affects us in many areas of our lives. What is one situation where, in your view, more competition is needed
About this Event

P&D-11 The Catfish Effect - aka A Kick Up The Bum 9 & 13 January 2026

[FIND US: For Google Meet ONLINE, click "going" (not just "interested") to get a and I will send you a link. For the LIVE MEETUP, Look for a furry animal toy on the table. The Myer Basement Food Court is fairly quiet at 6:30 pm every second Friday evening when we meet there. This makes talking easy and relaxed. Each time there is a different topic with 10 talking points to help with ideas. For more details on each topic see the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1678127882281980 .

The organizer is Thor May, [email protected] . See you soon :) ]

Name Change note: Present & Discuss will change its name to Interesting Topics from the end of January 2026

Recommended viewing: The Jay Martin Show (22 Oct 2025) "The Catfish Effect: How China Stole America’s Best Ideas" @

[note: The title is a bit misleading but the content is clear]

Explanation [Gemini LLM] The Catfish Effect is a business and management concept where introducing a strong competitor (the "catfish") into a stagnant group or market motivates weaker participants (the "sardines") to improve their performance to avoid being outperformed.

Discussion Points

1. Competition, or the lack of it, affects us in many areas of our lives. What is one situation where, in your view, more competition is needed. Argue the case for that. How would you go about it?

2. The idea of the catfish effect is to push people, companies or governments out of their comfort zones to strive for something better. Nobody likes to be discomforted. How do you think, for example, a government dedpartment might resist change? Think of other examples.

3. America's Trump (in my view) is an idiot wielding a sledge hammer. He has no idea what he is doing. However, this catfish has really scared all kinds of sardines. How will America and the world be rebuilt after he is gone?

4. The catfish effect is well known amongst real estate agents. How do you think they might use this pschological tool to make extra profit?

5. Over the last twenty years, China has allowed foreign companies to set up business in China under certain conditions. The idea was to stimulate Chinese companies to learn, copy and compete with the foreign companies, then kick the foreigners out. What examples do you know about? How well has it worked?

6. Intense competition is a powerful short term stimulant. What might eventually K*ll the catfish effect? How might it be made sustainable?

7. FOMO, fear of missing out, can be manipulated to have a catfish effect, especially at a personal level. For example, how do social media companies and the advertising industry exploit FOMO to make money?

8. All kinds of sports depend upon competition to encourage players to higher achievement. This only works if the teams are fairly matched and the umpire is neutral. What can governments worldwide learn from this analogy, and where have they often gone wrong? Examples?

9. The generation which follows a major war, especially a loss, sometimes sacrifice their personal comfort to rebuild a country through hard work. Their parents lost everything. Germany and Japan are examples of this. So is the PRC. However the second generation grows up without any intense memory of loss, without a catfish effect. What is the outcome of this change of generations? How can a society adapt to meet the new mood?

10. What are the pluses and minuses of competition in education?

Extra Viewing & Reading

The Jay Martin Show (22 Oct 2025) "The Catfish Effect: How China Stole America’s Best Ideas" @

[note: The title is a bit misleading but the content is clear]

HealthyGamerGG (23 Sept 2023) "Dr. K Explains: Fear-Of-Missing-Out ( FOMO )" @