patterns and collapse

This is interesting. 

http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2009/03/what-bruce-ster.html

The part I like is this. Consider the following system:

1. It's very big

2. It underpins pretty much everything for everybody, individuals and businesses both

3. It runs on systems that no one actual person understands

4. The people who use it day-to-day - let's call them 'customers' - are the people who understand it least - but they assume that somewhere, someone is running it who does understand it

5. But there isn't, see point 2

6. The best services are either cheap or free

7. And based on 6, you can get whatever you want and not pay

So What system is that? There are two potential answers: 

a) the banking system last year

b) the internet... today

It may be time to be a little bit worried.