Wiki · Reference entry
Blast radius
How much damage one wrong action can do before anyone notices.
Borrowed from security, and the single most useful question to ask about any automation. Not how likely is it to be wrong, but what happens when it is. A system that drafts is nearly harmless. A system that sends, pays, deletes or promises has a radius, and it should be sized deliberately rather than discovered.
Why it matters
The one question that reliably separates a safe pilot from an expensive one.