Noam Chomsky’s ice cream cone thought experiment

The scholar, linguist, public intellectual and political activist Noam Chomsky has used particular thought experiment several times in books and interviews,

He asks to imagine a scenario in which you see a child enjoying an ice cream cone, only for an adult to come along and steal it for themselves.

There are a few different levels, and I hope I’m doing justice to the idea.

First point, is that as an observer you might be troubled, or even angry, about the theft. However Chomsky asks to take a step back, in order to consider what the wider context is, or might be: who really benefits from the theft, who the people at play are, what the dynamics and structures are that led to this particular situation with the child eating an ice cream, and the adult stealing it.

He uses the idea to illustrate the difference an immediate emotional response (trouble or anger) to something that is clearly morally wrong, and the more complex mechanisms and intertwining gears of power and authority structures.

The metaphor, is that we as human beings tend to emotionally react to what is immediately visible, perhaps to the point of being blinded, and preventing us from questioning or understanding the larger context, more complex explanations, or power dynamics.

I like it because I also feel it is the case when it comes to brand strategy. A brand well managed should be simple and emotionally compelling. However to get to that point, there are complex questions and delve in and explore, for example in terms of the business category at large, competitors, and all the components of marketing.

The other broader point I enjoy about this thought experiment, is that it is also a commentary or challenge to overly cynical and hopeless views of the world.

It is easier to believe that the world is so dominated by power structures and that everyone is in for themselves, to draw the conclusion that efforts to change thing in any positive way would be pointless or naïve.

But go back to thinking of that child, happily eating an ice cream. You see an adult stealing the ice cream, and you see that it is morally wrong, you can feel it. Chomsky argues that we have the capacity to care, and that is also important in itself.

We are not only are we capable to take a step back and consider a wider context, but we also have a moral compass, we can trust our sense of what is right or wrong, and take action. By telling the thief off, for example, or consoling that child and buying another ice cream for them, maybe.

Even if we can see there are bigger problems in the world, and power structures, we can do things that matter, and that it is important to have hope, and do the right thing.

This video talks about the idea with a huge amount of classic villains stealing ice cream from kids in various movies, it’s worth a watch.

In this 1988 interview, Chomsky mentions the thought experiment briefly towards the end, about stealing candy from a child in this case. You can also read about the ice cream thought experiment in Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky.