Panic


Nobody can see the structure of software (tools through which we could do that would be very useful, but might not be welcomed by software managers, for the reason this slogan mentions). 

If a mechanical system we rely upon every day looks too rickety and wobbly it would be withheld or withdrawn from service until a more solid-looking replacement were patched together. Software regularly breaks (usually resulting in a crash, or a freeze, and sometimes a response by customer support of “Yes, we knew about that”)  –  we take it in stride, reboot, and blunder on down our paths. 

If, however, we could see the whole structure and realize that this or that part is bound to fail sooner rather than later, we would not allow our society to be endangered so regularly. And we certainly would not hold the designers and builders of the software in high regard!

And if our repose was “yes – we know about that” people would be justified in panicking.