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This is just a reality check, really...
Many thought that America was invulnerable to terrorist attacks - until 9/11. Many thought that the phone networks would carry emergency traffic until that same awful day, when the lines were all clogged. Many thought that the levees in New Orleans were high enough - until Katrina. Many thought that the highway infrastructure would allow mass evacuations - until the Texas Parking Lot debacle. Many thought that the bridge over the Tacoma Rapids was stable - until the wind blew a bit too hard and we got Galloping Gertie. Microsoft thought that they could extend existing code for Longhorn/Vista - until they realized they had to rewrite large sections of it because of corners they had cut in the past, which caught up to them.

Let's face it, the way that most things are designed today are on the lowest cost/highest profit principle, statistics, and just plain being in a hurry. How likely is it that a plane will fly into this building? Nahhhh, very improbable, let's cut costs and "forget" to install the fire-retardant materials between floors. Or imagine the chief engineer saying to the Tacoma bridge designer, "Use a safety factor of 2, that will be good enough for this bridge", ignorant of the potential effects of resonance set up by high winds.

How about a vehicle manufacturer, weighing the cost of recalling a model known to have a serious life-threatening defect (i.e the gas tank exploding on impact), and deciding that it would cost less to say nothing and simply settle the lawsuits?

And so on.

I guess the points I am making are that (a) the mighty buck, the bottom line, overrules just about everything (b) people are either not willing to admit their ignorance of things that could badly affect their designs, or are unwilling to pay the price of compensating for that ignorance (or known flaws) in the form of higher safety factors (such as backup Internet routes).

A final word. The Brooklyn bridge is, from what I read, the only suspension bridge built at the time that is still standing. The reason why is that its designer, John Roebling, used a safety factor of 6 - he built it 6 times as strong as it needed to be; to compensate for his ignorance (story on that at this link: http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/pearls/sec073.html).
Posted by: emofine   Posted on: 10/07/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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To quote that famous rabbit...  Linux User 147560 | 10/06/05
Knee jerk post?  No_Ax_to_Grind | 10/06/05
Only problem  ibabadur1 | 10/06/05
This is a little different  george_ou | 10/06/05
Bits cost to move them.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 10/06/05
The cost as with most things in the United States  Linux User 147560 | 10/07/05
People's Right To Access  kgrant | 10/07/05
Ironically, your point actually proves mine...  emofine | 10/07/05
Viva America  Mectron | 10/06/05
See my reply : Knee jerk post.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 10/06/05
A free country doesn't work that way  george_ou | 10/06/05
So the final winner would be ...  dr praetorius | 10/06/05
That's not what mediation is for  george_ou | 10/06/05
I think this is the most desirable outcome.  kgrant | 10/07/05
Mediation requires a willingness to give and take.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 10/06/05
In some cases, yes. In some cases, no...  BitTwiddler | 10/07/05
Wouldn't it be easier  maldain | 10/07/05
Might as well nationalize  sweidman | 10/07/05
What we have today, in no way resembles  bjbrock | 10/06/05
Backtrack  node357 | 10/06/05
Here here!  mujadaddy | 10/06/05
Internet was never like that  george_ou | 10/06/05
Not so much a misconception  voska | 10/07/05
Really GREAT article about this  Jazzman28 | 10/06/05
What these two companies need is a Class Action Lawsuit and a...  realitycheck101 | 10/06/05
YEAHRIGHT you have THAT RIGHT!!!!  btljooz | 10/07/05
Hit'em hard in the bank accounts.  walterreads@... | 10/07/05
IF  btljooz | 10/07/05
Headline Wrong/Ugh! Gov't Intervention Needed?  WildcatRay | 10/07/05
A reasonable point  BitTwiddler | 10/07/05
The headline is correct..  thatguy888@... | 10/07/05
Who needs hackers when you've management?  ejhonda | 10/07/05
"GOT"... when you've GOT management.  ejhonda | 10/07/05
All this boils down to is...  DragonBRockin | 10/07/05
Yes, somewhat fragile and  Boot_Agnostic | 10/07/05
And if my own reaction is any indication, the real loser may well  ghastly | 10/07/05
You May Be Right, But...  WildcatRay | 10/07/05
The FTC could fix this  johndoe445566 | 10/07/05
Interesting Point  WildcatRay | 10/07/05
Government intervention  btljooz | 10/07/05
Where to start  Edward@... | 10/07/05
Jail the two CEO's until it's resolved  nabisho | 10/07/05
This is just a reality check, really...  emofine | 10/07/05
Fragile Network-Internet  walterreads@... | 10/07/05
Level3's Responsibility  kgrant | 10/07/05
You make a good point  emofine | 10/07/05
The point of business  cburgess | 10/09/05
Interesting reading  btljooz | 10/07/05
That's right, screw the little guys...  Sunkmakicima | 10/07/05
Hooray!!  alyoopz | 10/07/05
Railroads, Telephones, and the Internet  cburgess | 10/09/05
RE: Railroads, Telephones, and the Internet by matrixx  btljooz | 10/12/05

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