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==Trivia== ==Trivia==
*When the word failure is ], the first search result is the official White House biography of ]. This is due to a practice called ] in which a coordinated group use the phrase failure to describe and link to this biographical website.<ref>{{cite press release *When the word failure is ], the first search result is the official White House biography of ]. This is due to the advanced power of the google search engine, allowing it to accurately determine that ] is a failure, as a ] and as a ].
|title=Googlebombing 'failure'
|publisher=]
|date=]
|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/09/googlebombing-failure.html
|accessdate=2006-12-13
}}</ref>


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 00:37, 18 December 2006

For other senses of this word, see Failure (disambiguation).

Failure in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success.

Criteria for failure

The criteria for failure are heavily dependent on context of use, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. A situation considered to be a failure by one might be considered a success by another, particularly in cases of direct competition or a zero-sum game. As well, the degree of success or failure in a situation may be differently viewed by distinct observers or participants, such that a situation that one considers to be a failure, another might consider to be a success, a qualified success or a neutral situation.

It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or heuristics, to judge the success or failure of a situation may itself be a significant task.

Commercial failures

A commercial failure is a product that does not reach expectations of success, failing to come even close. A major flop goes one step further and is recognized for its complete lack of success.

Most of the items listed below had high expectations, significant financial investments, and/or widespread publicity, but fell far short of success. Obviously, due to the subjective nature of "success" and "meeting expectations", there can be disagreement about what constitutes a "major flop."

Other failures

Trivia

  • When the word failure is googled, the first search result is the official White House biography of George W. Bush. This is due to the advanced power of the google search engine, allowing it to accurately determine that George W. Bush is a failure, as a President and as a human being.

References

  • Lansdowne, Bridget L.M. BOOM, BUST, BANG!: A History of American Failures. Staskin Mellville-Organization Press, 2004. ISBN ?.
  • Charles Perrow, Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies, New Tork: Basic Books, 1984. Paperback reprint, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-691-00412-9
  • Sandage, Scott A. Born Losers: A History of Failure in America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN 067401510X, ISBN 067402107X.

See also

External links

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