Complete the axioms redux

blog/systemantics.rst

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+.. _systemantics:
+
+======================
+Axioms of Systemantics
+======================
+
+*2024 Jan 25*
+
+`Systemantics <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemantics>`__ is a silly little
+book with some interesting ideas about why systems fail. Below is a summary of
+the book's `axioms <https://www.etymonline.com/word/axiom>`_.
+
+**Systems In General Work Poorly Or Not At All**.
+
+**New Systems Mean New Problems**.
+
+**Systems Operate By Redistributing Anergy**.
+
+**Systems Tend To Grow And Encroach**.
+
+**Complicated Systems Produce Unexpected Outcomes**.
+
+**Complex Systems Tend To Oppose Their Own Proper Function**.
+
+**People In Systems Do Not Do What The System Says They Are Doing**.
+
+**The System Itself Does Not Do What It Says It Is Doing**.
+
+**The Real World Is Whatever Is Reported To The System**.
+
+**For Every Human System, There Is A Type Of Person Adapted To Thrive On It**.
+
+**The Bigger The System, The Narrower And More Specialized The Interface
+With Individuals**.
+
+**A Complex System Cannot Be "Made" To Work**.
+
+**A Simple System, Designed From Scratch, Sometimes Works**.
+
+**Some Complex Systems Actually Work**.
+
+**A Complex System That Works Is Invariably Found To Have Evolved From A
+Simple System That Works**.
+
+**A Complex System Designed From Scratch Never Works**.
+
+**In Complex Systems, Malfunction And Total Nonfunction May Not Be Detectable
+For Long Periods, If Ever**.
+
+**Large Complex Systems Are Beyond Human Capacity To Evaluate**.
+
+**A System Continues To Do Its Thing, Regardless Of Need**.
+
+**Systems Develop Goals Of Their Own**.
+
+**Intrasystem Goals Come First**.
+
+**Complex Systems Usually Operate In Failure Mode**.
+
+**The Mode Of Failure From A Complex System Cannot Ordinarily Be Predicted
+From Its Structure**.
+
+**The Crucial Variables Are Discovered By Accident**.
+
+**The Larger The System, The Greater The Probability Of Unexpected Failure**.
+
+**"Success" Or "Failure" In Any System May Be Failure In The Larger Or Smaller
+Systems To Which The System Is Connected**.
+
+**When A Fail-Safe System Fails, It Fails By Failing To Fail Safe**.
+
+**Complex Systems Tend To Produce Complex Responses (Not Solutions) To
+Problems**.
+
+**Great Advances Are Not Produced By Systems Designed To Produce Great
+Advances**.
+
+**Systems Run Better When Designed To Run Downhill**.
+
+**Loose Systems Last Longer And Work Better**.