Scientific Definition
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Plain-English Definition
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Feynman Explanation
Tolerate the small stuff and the big stuff arrives next.
Core Principle
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Standards decay at the level of the smallest thing tolerated.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Tolerate the small stuff and the big stuff arrives next.
Examples
- A messy codebase accumulates more mess. A late-meeting culture spreads.
- Standards decay at the level of the smallest thing tolerated.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Repair the small breakage immediately. It's a leading indicator.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Repair the small breakage immediately. It's a leading indicator.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
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