Ethics in Complex Systems Explained

What has been corrected on this page?

Every accepted correction to this page is recorded with the exact change, so readers can see how the page improved over time.

1. 28 July 2026 · corrected by Emir Baycan

   Corrected two attribution/framing issues: flagged the widely repeated 'we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them' quotation as attributed to Einstein but without a verified source in his actual writings; and reframed Perrow's Normal Accidents (1984) findings as based on detailed case studies of major industrial accidents (nuclear, chemical, aviation, maritime) rather than a systematic '100 years of industrial accident data' analysis. The Bail et al. (2018, PNAS) Twitter polarization study and the Marc Edwards Flint water-testing data (277 homes, 40% above the 15-ppb EPA action level) were verified accurate and left in place.

   What the page claimed

   The article attributed a widely repeated quotation directly to Einstein and characterized Perrow's Normal Accidents as an examination of 100 years of systematic accident data.

   What was corrected

   Flagged the quotation's uncertain attribution and reframed Perrow's work as case-study-based rather than a formal 100-year dataset analysis.

   Why: The quotation lacks a verified primary source despite common attribution, and Perrow's book is case-study analysis rather than a large historical dataset study. Corrections add the appropriate caveats rather than adding new sources.

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