[ThrottleHead]

I learned early in my career that in engineering things are really only ever varying degrees of brokenness.

[dredmorbius]

If you're not familiar with Richard I. Cook's "How Complex Systems Fail", you're in for a treat.

http://web.mit.edu/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Sys...

(And if you are, you're in for a re-treat.)

General Systemantics addresses similar points:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemantics