--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To recap: it is possible to put decent…" description: "\"“To recap: it is possible to put decent information into a Government Machine, have ordinary, good people running the thing, and a reasonable system in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/nick-harkaway-4221_error_to-recap-it-is-possible-to-put-decent-in_2038936.png" --- # To recap: it is possible to put decent information into a… ![“To recap: it is possible to put decent information into a Government Machine, have ordinary, good people running the thing, and a reasonable system in place, and still get utter idiocy out of the dispenser?" "More than possible. Likely.” quote by Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/nick-harkaway-4221_error_to-recap-it-is-possible-to-put-decent-in_2038936.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/nick-harkaway-4221_error_to-recap-it-is-possible-to-put-decent-in_2038936.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/nick-harkaway-4221_error_to-recap-it-is-possible-to-put-decent-in_2038936.png) > ““To recap: it is possible to put decent information into a Government Machine, have ordinary, good people running the thing, and a reasonable system in place, and still get utter idiocy out of the dispenser?" "More than possible. Likely.”” [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even good systems and people can produce absurd outcomes; complexity breeds error. **In simple terms:** Systems can fail despite good intent. Key Takeaway Design checks for absurdity. Themes technology bureaucracy failure Mood critical analytical Type observational cautionary When to use this quote - software development - policy making - organizational management Key Concepts systemic risk human error Questions to Reflect On - How do you detect hidden absurdities? - What safeguards can prevent them? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on process can mask flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Idiocy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiocy/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) ## Related quotes > [“So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/so-convenient-a-thing-it-is-to-be-a-reasonable-creature-since-it/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [So convenient a thing to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/so-convenient-a-thing-to-be-a-reasonable-creature-since-it-enables/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [ The trouble with the theory \[of limited and divided government\] is that government is not a machine, but a living thing. This is where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-trouble-with-the-theory-of-limited-and-divided-government-is-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Government has become a machine that runs only when gold coins are inserted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/government-has-become-a-machine-that-runs-only-when-gold-coins-are/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [We call the rangers 'the tool.' They're just kind of a tool of the government machine. They don't use their own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-potter/we-call-the-rangers-the-tool-they-re-just-kind-of-a-tool-of-the/) [Dean Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-potter/) > [The federal government is a machine designed to increase its control over the lives of average Americans. It is constantly probing here, pushing there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/the-federal-government-is-a-machine-designed-to-increase-its-control/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [I would like to see transparency become the default for the American government: Abolish the Freedom of Information Act so we don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-jarvis/i-would-like-to-see-transparency-become-the-default-for-the-american/) [Jeff Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-jarvis/) > [I have many times made public information that the government wanted to keep secret, information that the public has a right to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/i-have-many-times-made-public-information-that-the-government-wanted/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [ “As opposition leader, \[Stephen Harper\] wrote in the Montreal Gazette in the year before he came to power: 'Information is the lifeblood of a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-martin/as-opposition-leader-stephen-harper-wrote-in-the-montreal-gazette-in/) [Lawrence Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-martin/) > [Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets have a great deal of information about all of us - and the government wants to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cohen/twitter-facebook-and-other-social-media-outlets-have-a-great-deal-of/) [Adam Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cohen/) > [Our system of checks and balances requires policymakers to have accurate information about government actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-feinstein/our-system-of-checks-and-balances-requires-policymakers-to-have/) [Dianne Feinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-feinstein/) > [WikiLeaks has been a very strong proponent of the Freedom of Information Act. This is probably, actually, if you think about it, probably against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/wikileaks-has-been-a-very-strong-proponent-of-the-freedom-of/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [In Washington, the accepted method for passing along information about how the government fails to meet real-world needs is to leak it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/in-washington-the-accepted-method-for-passing-along-information-about/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [Companies should be able to share specific threat information with the government without the prospect of lawsuits hanging over their head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/companies-should-be-able-to-share-specific-threat-information-with/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [“Garbage in, garbage out. Or rather more felicitously: the tree of nonsense is watered with error, and from its branches swing the pumpkins of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/garbage-in-garbage-out-or-rather-more-felicitously-the-tree-of/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) ## More by Nick Harkaway > [“We were deluged together in the raw, unbalanced Stuff of the universe. Inevitable consequence: My own little reification. I was made flesh, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/we-were-deluged-together-in-the-raw-unbalanced-stuff-of-the-universe/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Her eyes are very bright. She loves senses, loves the world. He finds that…admirable, and a bit daunting. I am a mole. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/her-eyes-are-very-bright-she-loves-senses-loves-the-world-he-finds/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“An ugly calm lay over the streets like the anticipation of a beating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/an-ugly-calm-lay-over-the-streets-like-the-anticipation-of-a-beating/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [If we one day cease to exist, what will be remarkable is that we were ever here at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/if-we-one-day-cease-to-exist-what-will-be-remarkable-is-that-we-were/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Crotch biting menace:I have my mouth in close proximity to your genitals.Oh thou man who talks to my mistress over coffee.Do not irk or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/crotch-biting-menace-i-have-my-mouth-in-close-proximity-to-your/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“I can show him how to be the right kind of stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/i-can-show-him-how-to-be-the-right-kind-of-stupid/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“She has to admit privately that she may be mad. Although if so, it is a merciless, clear-sighted sort of madness and not at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/she-has-to-admit-privately-that-she-may-be-mad-although-if-so-it-is-a/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Dressing, I chose the second shirt, the one softened in the mouth of a trained and perfumed albino hippopotamus and made entirely of pigeon's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/dressing-i-chose-the-second-shirt-the-one-softened-in-the-mouth-of-a/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [No. The moral of the story in so far as it has one is that cannibals can study logic, and that if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/no-the-moral-of-the-story-in-so-far-as-it-has-one-is-that-cannibals/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Kershaw had long ago realised, apparently, that dealing with Brits was tricky. You had to listen to what a Brit was saying -- which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/kershaw-had-long-ago-realised-apparently-that-dealing-with-brits-was/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Then he explained in a whisper that the plan was composed entirely of awesome. It was made and designed by the House of Awesome,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/then-he-explained-in-a-whisper-that-the-plan-was-composed-entirely-of/) [nick harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [“Yes. Edie Banister has gone postal. A very British sort of postal which does not involve shouting, but rather a sudden and total reverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/yes-edie-banister-has-gone-postal-a-very-british-sort-of-postal-which/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [Nowhere have I ever heard of Satan taking the form of an avuncular hippie. No doubt he could. It just seems inefficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/nowhere-have-i-ever-heard-of-satan-taking-the-form-of-an-avuncular/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [I have wrangles with Facebook, entered fictitious trips because I can't get the map to get off my page, don't want people to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/i-have-wrangles-with-facebook-entered-fictitious-trips-because-i-can/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [Piracy is robbery with violence, often segueing into murder, rape and kidnapping. It is one of the most frightening crimes in the world. Using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/piracy-is-robbery-with-violence-often-segueing-into-murder-rape-and/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) [Explore all 114 Nick Harkaway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) ## More Error quotes > [Truth is error burned up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/truth-is-error-burned-up/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [“Between an Error and a Lie, there are Worlds – an Error is an unintended Mistake, a Lie is an intentional Audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/between-an-error-and-a-lie-there-are-worlds-an-error-is-an-unintended/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [This idea that once you get into politics... you are now signed up for lifelong duty being in elective office, makes a fundamental error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gonzalez/this-idea-that-once-you-get-into-politics-you-are-now-signed-up-for/) [Matt Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gonzalez/) > [“Error, failure, and being wrong are central to our development. We just aren’t using them as much as we should…yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-arnott/error-failure-and-being-wrong-are-central-to-our-development-we-just/) [Alastair Arnott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-arnott/) > [Carve and polish it the way you like, error cannot be changed into a precious stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/carve-and-polish-it-the-way-you-like-error-cannot-be-changed-into-a/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [“error,” and it is the best way to seek out a great result that fulfills your client’s business need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sherwin/error-and-it-is-the-best-way-to-seek-out-a-great-result-that-fulfills/) David Sherwin > [It's a base hit on the error by Roberts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-coleman/it-s-a-base-hit-on-the-error-by-roberts/) [Jerry Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-coleman/) > [If we didn't have genetic mutations, we wouldn't have us. You need error to open the door to the adjacent possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/if-we-didn-t-have-genetic-mutations-we-wouldn-t-have-us-you-need/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [Error is discipline through which we advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/error-is-discipline-through-which-we-advance/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [“Never give up your right to be wrong, and be sure to give others that right too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/never-give-up-your-right-to-be-wrong-and-be-sure-to-give-others-that/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [Narrative drives most of economics. Everything seems to be part of a story, and how that story is told often leads to critical error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/narrative-drives-most-of-economics-everything-seems-to-be-part-of-a/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [After working with many nutritionists, reading books, and practicing trial and error on my own body, I have finally found a way to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-somers/after-working-with-many-nutritionists-reading-books-and-practicing/) [Suzanne Somers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-somers/) > [“Stop blaming other people for your mistakes. Until you are ready to admit that you are infallible, you are vulnerable for failure to whip.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/stop-blaming-other-people-for-your-mistakes-until-you-are-ready-to/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Believe truth! Shun error!-these, we see, are two materially different laws; and by choosing between them we may end by coloring differently our whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/believe-truth-shun-error-these-we-see-are-two-materially-different/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“In short, if youth is not quite right in its opinions, there is a strong probability that age is not much more so. Undying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-short-if-youth-is-not-quite-right-in-its-opinions-there-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) Browse all 289 Error quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To recap: it is possible to put decent information into a Government Machine, have ordinary, good people running the thing, and a reasonable system in place, and still get utter idiocy out of the dispenser?\" \"More than possible. 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