Definition
A recursive feedback failure where successful human adaptation to a system defect prevents the defect from generating an error signal. Because human competence keeps output within acceptable bounds, telemetry and dashboards report healthy operation, institutional learning is blocked, and the defect is preserved.
StructuralVisibility
Tests that show it is in place
- Error rates are measured during work-to-rule periods, and a rise is read as the defect showing itself.
- Dashboard metrics register a signal when frontline workarounds spike.
Hypothetical example
- In a triage queue, nurses manually reassign misrouted high-priority cases, so the hospital's automated routing algorithm reports zero adverse triage delays.
References
- The human subsidy to institutional continuity · Theory
- Absorption as concealment · Theory