Failure Modes
Four faces of the tetrahedron. Each defined by the absent vertex.
Failure Case Patterns
How real systems break. Each failure mode has a seduction, a mechanism, and a diagnostic signal.
Dissolved Patterns
The Consensus Trap — positions soften to maintain agreement. Relationship edge degrades.
The Pivot Loop — project changes with every feedback. Self-Knowledge edge degrades.
AI Agreement — agrees with contradictions across sessions. All Differentiation edges absent.
Isolated Patterns
Documentation Graveyard — comprehensive docs nobody reads. Circulation edge degrades.
Fortress Identity — strong identity, unreachable. Relationship edge degrades.
Whistleblower Aftermath — procedural justice without relational justice. Consent edge degrades.
Overflowing Patterns
Burnout Cycle — generous members give until depleted. Consent edge degrades.
Open Source Sprawl — accepts everything, maintainable by none. Deployment edge degrades.
Dance Floor Chaos — individual quality high, collective coordination absent. Self-Knowledge edge degrades.
Ephemeral Patterns
Transformative Retreat — breakthroughs that revert in two months. Circulation edge degrades.
Brilliant Mentor — decades of skill that can’t be taught. Gift edge degrades.
AI Session — genuine insight, next session starts from zero. Circulation + Gift edges degrade.
Cross-Cutting Observations
- Modes combine — real systems may be missing more than one vertex simultaneously.
- Modes migrate — overcorrecting one failure often produces another.
- Seduction = diagnostic — if it feels frictionless, check which capacity was surrendered.
- Succession matters — what looks like failure at one stage may be appropriate at another.
Full case documentation: Failure Patterns artifact · Codex: codex/failure-modes/case-patterns.md
Notice which failure mode you recognized immediately. That speed of recognition is body knowledge — you’ve been in this one.