Wash Out 2

The Biblical symbolism of the New Orleans flood is becoming unmissable.

• 40 days for the floodwater to subside (BBC News)
• Widow's Mite: ThinkProgress via Backwards City.
• Intelligent Design: "Security thinking is based on the intelligent design model". (Security Nerd via One Raindrop)

From a security thinking perspective, Hurricane Katrina apparently provides an excellent proof of Intelligent Design. Surely only the most wise and angry God could find a way to destroy such well-engineered flood protection.

The Intelligent Design model assumes that we can build effective security by a top-down process. But the actual state of hurricane-readiness in New Orleans was not determined by a simple top-down process, but by a complex emergent process including large quantities of development in the surrounding area.

Security thinking also assumes symmetry between threat and defence. But Acts of God are often asymmetric. As Security Nerd indicates, there is no competition between an imperfect city and a perfect storm.

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