How sprinkler fallacy trips up engineers in biology

The last entry in the handbook Universal Principles of Design (available here) is named “Weakest Link”. According to authors, it is a design pattern featuring an element whose job is to fail and protect other, more valuable elements.

Crumple zones in cars absorb the kinetic energy on collision, protecting the passenger.

Fuses in electrical circuits short out first and turn off the device without frying the electronics.

Shear pins in boat motors easily break when the propeller hits a rock, saving the engine.

And the glass bulb of the sprinkler shatters in the heat of the fire, allowing the water