Rohe’s Theorem: This marvelous Theorem, grasped in a once-in-a-lifetime flash of intuition by Tom Rohe of Bremerton, Washington[xli], will serve as our introduction to the grim topic of Systems-exploitation: DESIGNERS OF SYSTEMS TEND TO DESIGN WAYS FOR THEMSELVES TO BYPASS THE SYSTEM

The first thing to note is that talking to a System is not like talking to a person or even to a pet. The command, “Here, Spot!” can reliably be counted on to produce not merely an approach response of the four legs, but also appropriate accommodative reactions of head, ears, tail, and body. The whole dog hears and responds. If Spot chooses not to

IF IT’S WORTH DOING AT ALL, IT’S WORTH DOING POORLY Striving for Perfection produces a kind of tunnel-vision resembling a hypnotic state. Absorbed in the pursuit of perfecting the System at hand, the striver has no energy or attention left over for considering other, possibly better, ways of doing the whole thing.

A selective process goes on, whereby Systems attract and keep those people whose attributes are such as to adapt them to life in that System: SYSTEMS ATTRACT SYSTEMS-PEOPLE Systems-people everywhere share certain attributes, but each specific System tends to attract people with specific sets of traits. For example, people who are attracted to auto-

Bad design is sometimes apparent on simple inspection. An outstanding example is the automobile. Built to travel at eighty miles per hour, it has bumpers designed to withstand impact attwomiles per hour. Powerful brakes can bring it to a screeching halt, but the occupants, unrestrained, continue to hurtle forward, where a twelve-mile-an-hour impact

Charles Darwin made it a rule to write down immediately any observation or argument that seemed to run counter to his theories. He had noticed that we humans tend to forget inconvenient facts, and if special notice is not taken of them, they simply fade out of awareness. Therefore, urged Darwin: CHERISH YOUR EXCEPTIONS

This principle has emerged from the observation that temporary buildings erected to house Navy personnel in World War I continued to see yeoman service in World War II as well as in subsequent ventures, and are now a permanent, if fading, feature of Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. The construction of the Pentagon, a few short miles away acr

BAD DESIGN CAN RARELY BE OVERCOME BY MORE DESIGN, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD

An organization sailing full speed ahead but upside down, metaphorically speaking, may fail to attract any notice.[b.] Corporate Mergers represent a special case, analogous in some aspects to the welding together of two, three or more ships of differing size, purpose, and speed, and attempting to navigate the resulting product.[cvi]