diff --git a/blog/systemantics.rst b/blog/systemantics.rst index e69de29..309f63c 100644 --- a/blog/systemantics.rst +++ b/blog/systemantics.rst @@ -0,0 +1,80 @@ +.. _systemantics: + +====================== +Axioms of Systemantics +====================== + +*2024 Jan 25* + +`Systemantics `__ is a silly little +book with some interesting ideas about why systems fail. Below is a summary of +the book's `axioms `_. + +**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**.