History Main / MyopicArchitecture

* Discussed and averted in the satirical poem "[[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Deacon%27s_Masterpiece The Deacon's Masterpiece, or, The Wonderful One-Hoss Shay]]", in which the eponymous vehicle is made "so like in every part" that there is no weak point that could cause it to break down. After a century of use, [[spoiler:the whole thing disintegrates at once]]. Said poem is sometimes referenced in engineering classes as it's connected to a real-life design dilemma: actually design a specific weak point whose lifespan is measurable and which can be easily replaced (the electric fuse being an excellent example), try to guess at and reinforce the points of major wear (which you often get wrong), or try to build everything equally strong at the cost of having no idea how long the thing will last or what kind of repairs it might end up needing.

* In ''Literature/HeavyObject'' the Cook Addition Islands are artificial lands meant to house top secret Object development. However there were multiple contractors involved in the construction with varying ideas on what security was needed for individual jobs. Air vents are completely secured against trespasser but utility passages are unlocked and lead directly into otherwise secure areas.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Miko Miyazaki is trapped by Xykon in a completely indestructible [[ForceField forcecage]] so she cannot warn her countrymen of Xykon's impending invading army. However, she eventually realizes that the forcecage consists of walls and a ceiling, but no floor. By smashing up the floor, Miko is able to escape. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, this was [[AllAccordingToPlan Xykon's plan all along]], to the point where he even researched a custom spell called "Xykon's Moderately Escapable Forcecage". Now he can use a TrackingSpell on Miko to find the MacGuffin she is sworn to protect.]]

** Ferdinand Foch's operational plan stank. He forsook the French Army's strengths, taking and holding well-prepared lines, and tried to use it for something it was never designed for -- an operation of rapid movement. There was a good strategic rationale for this, given the logic behind preserving Dutch and Belgian industry, but it was still a risky move for an Army not designed or suited to execute it to attempt it against an Army that very much was.[[note]]German pre-war and WWII German doctrine was known as ''Bewegungskrieg'' (Manoeuvre Warfare). ''Blitzkrieg'' bears no relation, being a catchy term coined by English-language journalists during WWII to describe the new warfare of rapid movement.[[/note]]

* Yoshie Shiratori, who holds claim to fame by managing to escape from prison four times. After having escaped thrice he was placed in a supposedly inescapable cell: the walls were heavily reinforced, the only windows were smaller than his head, and there were six armed guards keeping watch on him 24/7. Rather ironically, it was his easiest escape attempt as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8trlbCbU8&t=17m45s they had neglected to reinforce the floor owing to his previous ones all having been done through windows or skylights, so Yoshie simply dug a tunnel out]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' has the Death Star, a planet-destroying space station. It can only be destroyed by firing missiles down a small exhaust port which directly leads to the main reactor; said port is at the end of a trench that cannot be easily defended by fighters or defence turrets. However, given the fact that the exhaust port was so small that only a Force-user could make the shot -- and there were about two Force-users in the galaxy ''not'' working for the Empire at this point -- it's not as Myopic as often thought. ''Film/RogueOne'' {{retcon}}s the design. [[spoiler:The lead designer of the Death Star, realizing that refusing to help would only delay the project, purposely built in a [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak point]] which could be exploited without the Empire's knowledge. He wanted the Death Star destroyed more than anyone.]]

** In ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', Rincewind discovers that the cell doors in the XXXX jail have thick bars, sturdy locks... and weak half-pin hinges.[[note]]Five years ''before'' Jack Sparrow did it.[[/note]]

* In an episode of ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'', he's at a college supervising a day in which students who have locked the doors of their dorm rooms in various creative ways change places and try to open them. [[spoiler: One student's room isn't locked at all.]] This plot was based on an actual annual event at Caltech.
* In one episode of ''Series/TheMentalist'', the VictimOfTheWeek was killed via exposure to a deadly virus kept in a high-security vault accessed by retina scan - which didn't work right and would let in anybody who presented their eye for scanning.

* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': The ''Silent Hill: Dying Inside'' review ends with him finding unbreakable chains on his bedroom door, in a reference to ''VideoGame/SilentHill4TheRoom''. However, since the wall they're attached to is plasterboard, [[CuttingTheKnot he just rips them loose]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': During a [[TheWestern western]]-themed fantasy sequence, Pooh is thrown into a jail cell and somehow every single character is too stupid to notice that the bars are wide enough to easily step through and the back wall is completely missing. When Pooh is broken out of jail by Tigger, they even leave through the missing wall, but not before Tigger unlocks the door first, somehow not realizing they could have done that before.

* Braum's shield in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' used to be a door to a magic vault. The door was unbreakable. [[SuperStrength The mountain the vault was part of wasn't.]]