Episode
Why Systems Fail (And Why It's Usually Not the Technology) | Adam Korga
- Podcast
- The Thought Atlas Podcast
- Published
- Jun 18, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2094
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Summary
Modern life runs on systems.Technology.Markets.Institutions.Organizations.But systems rarely fail in the ways we expect.Most breakdowns aren't caused by bad people or faulty machines.They're caused by something far more interesting:Human behavior.In this episode of Thought Atlas, I'm joined by Adam Korga, a writer, systems analyst, and twenty-year veteran of the IT industry whose work explores complexity, incentives, technology, and why things so often fail in predictable ways.Through books like The IT Dictionary and the Fuckup Almanac series, Adam combines sharp humor with systems thinking to help people see beyond jargon and understand how the world actually works.Together, we explore:• Why systems fail• Technology and human behavior• Incentives and unintended consequences• Complexity and the misuse of jargon• Why breakdowns teach more than successes• How to spot hype and misinformation• Patterns that repeat across business, politics, and technology• AI and the future of complexity• Humor as a tool for truth• What responsibility comes with understanding systemsThis isn't just a conversation about technology.It's an exploration of complexity, incentives, human nature, and the gap between how things are supposed to work—and how they actually do.🌍 Thought Atlas:https://joinpodmatch.com/thoughtatlas🌍 Adam Korga:https://adamkorga.com