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An idiot-proof or foolproof design is one that cannot be misused either inherently, or by use of
''Mostly Harmless''
Vol. 5. Pan Macmillan, 2009, p. 113.
An idiot-proof or foolproof design is one that cannot be misused either inherently, or by use of defensive design
Defensive design is the practice of planning for Contingency plan, contingencies in the design stage of a project or undertaking. Essentially, it is the practice of anticipating all possible ways that an end-user could misuse a device, and desig ...
principles. The implication is that the design is usable even by someone of low intelligence who would not use it properly.
The term ''foolproof'' originates in 1902. The term ''idiot-proof'' became popular in the 1970s. It may have been invented as a stronger-sounding version of foolproof, as the force of foolproof had declined due to frequent usage. Perhaps for the same reason, "foolproof" is now a formal term, whereas "idiot-proof" remains informal.
Several Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."
Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...
adages claim that idiot-proof systems cannot be made, for example "Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool" and "If you make something idiot-proof, someone will just make a better idiot." Along those lines, Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...
wrote in ''Mostly Harmless
''Mostly Harmless'' is a 1992 novel by Douglas Adams and the fifth book in the '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series. It is described on the cover of the first edition as "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitch Hik ...
'', "a common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools".Douglas, Adams''Mostly Harmless''
Vol. 5. Pan Macmillan, 2009, p. 113.
See also
*Defensive design
Defensive design is the practice of planning for Contingency plan, contingencies in the design stage of a project or undertaking. Essentially, it is the practice of anticipating all possible ways that an end-user could misuse a device, and desig ...
* Hanlon's razor
* Inherent safety
* Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."
Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...
* Poka-yoke
is any mechanism in a process that helps an equipment operator to avoid mistakes and defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. It is a Japanese term that means "mistake-proofing" or "error prevention", ...
* Unintended consequences
In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences, more colloquially called knock-on effects) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was po ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Idiot Proof Phrases Reliability engineering