Comment by robocat

Oh, I suppose one could interpret it as literally as possible, and arrive at that essay's conclusion.

I have always considered the following to be basically synonymous:

* In the absence of info, consider the intended output of the system to be what it is measured to be

* The output of the system is best determined using observation vs reasoning

Most of the examples there are moreso about two systems colliding. Yes, the purpose of the military is to disable the enemy and by god they are disabling a lot of each other so much so that they don't seem to be doing much else.

Except the bus system, in which the purpose is indeed to turn fuel into exhaust, because the busses move whether they are full or not. The purpose of busses is to drive around, and it so happens people like to use them. If the purpose of busses was to shuttle people around, it could be done several other better ways.

If the purpose is to gamble, it can be done many other ways. This system seems purpose-designed (or purpose-emergent) to coax out secret information in the form of large bets.