[mcphage]

I think the purpose is more, "you think that transactions are always atomic, but they might not be, so when you start using a new system, check to make sure". Everybody has a set of assumptions, and those assumptions aren't always true. Sometimes they are. So knowing "here's a place that the assumption is false" is interesting, but not necessarily helpful. Instead, these kinds of lists let you know which of the facts that you know are merely assumptions, so you can investigate if it's true or not in your particular case, and then decide if it matters.