Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M1639

Fat Finger

Fat Finger
SystemsHigh supportSystems Theory
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Refers to huge trading losses caused by keyboard input errors (fat finger pressing the wrong key).

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The fragility of the human-machine interface. Even the most sophisticated financial model cannot withstand a single input error. System design must include 'outlier interception' and 'second confirmation' mechanisms to prevent low-level human errors.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The human-machine interface is fragile at the input stage: a single mis-touch/misplacement by the operator (fat finger, misleading interface, fatigue) is executed as-is by the system and amplified into huge losses; the error occurs in the last link of 'intent → input'.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat-finger_errorZH · Explicit
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