The Prestige Acquisition Trap
When ownership logic diverges from institutional purpose, ownership wins. The institution's mission was always contingent on the owner's patience—we just didn't see it.
history-systems
The Invisibility of What Works
Reliability produces invisibility. What works well stops being noticed, and what stops being noticed stops being maintained. Success is self-undermining.
The Seal That Stopped Sealing
Credentialing rituals can outlive the scrutiny they represent. When the seal persists but verification departs, the failure is invisible by design.
The Documented Risk
The paper trail that should trigger correction instead provides institutional cover while the flaw persists.
The Slow Disaster as Dominant Form
Our institutions are optimized for emergencies that announce themselves—the earthquake, the attack, the market crash. Events that cross a threshold, trigger detection, demand response. The UN Security Council convenes. States of emergency get declared.
But the dominant disaster form of our era never crosses that threshold. Each day is
The Inheritance Trap
Institutions conflate founding consent with current performance. When present-tense questions receive past-tense answers, you've found the category error.
The Consent You Owe Now
Institutions conflate originating consent with joining consent constantly. And the conflation isn't innocent.