social earthquake
n.— «We are producing enormous stress within our ecological and social systems that creates the possibility of what I call social earthquakes; the probability is going up of major system discontinuity and we’re acting as if the world is going to be the same in 50 years. Meanwhile, we are almost certain that it will be radically different. It may not be dramatically worse, but it is almost certain to be dramatically different and the changes will be discontinuous and non-linear. If we don’t build resilience into our society then change could be catastrophic.» —“Resilience and Civilization” by Ron Dembo Huffington Post Jan. 17, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Steven from San Antonio, Texas, seeks a word that means “the opposite of trauma.” Perhaps eustress, literally “good stress”? Or harmonization? Placid? Is there a better term for this? This is part of a complete episode...
Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm...