Scientific Definition
A solution works in the short run and creates a worse version of the original problem in the long run.
Plain-English Definition
A solution works in the short run and creates a worse version of the original problem in the long run.
Feynman Explanation
If you've solved the same problem three times, you haven't solved it once.
Core Principle
A solution works in the short run and creates a worse version of the original problem in the long run.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
A solution works in the short run and creates a worse version of the original problem in the long run.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The structural source of most 'why are we doing this again?' moments.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
If you've solved the same problem three times, you haven't solved it once.
Examples
- Cutting maintenance to hit a quarter → equipment fails next year → larger cost.
- The structural source of most 'why are we doing this again?' moments.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- For any quick fix, name the second-order consequence in writing. Re-read it in 6 months.
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.
- For any quick fix, name the second-order consequence in writing. Re-read it in 6 months.
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.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.