MiG-25 Effect
Updated 2026-07-31
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Named after the Soviet MiG-25 interceptor, which was built largely from stainless steel rather than the titanium used in contemporary American designs, yet achieved comparable or superior speed and altitude. Its core proposition is that system-level performance depends on how components are matched and integrated rather than on how advanced each component is individually. The key qualifier is that the integration advantage holds only while the architecture is sound; substituting advanced parts into a poorly matched design does not raise overall performance and can lower it.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Stop Counting Parts: Evaluate a system by how its components fit together rather than by the grade of each one. - Design for Fit: Choose components for compatibility with the whole architecture, not for individual specifications. - Build from the Goal: Derive component requirements by working backward from the system's target performance.
Anchor fast decisions
Overall performance emerges from interaction between components, so a well-matched set can outperform a collection of individually superior parts that interfere with each other. Mismatches create bottlenecks that absorb the advantage of any strong element, and integration work removes those bottlenecks. This is why optimizing parts in isolation often fails to move the system metric, and why architecture decisions matter more than component procurement.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- baike.baidu.comhttps://baike.baidu.com/item/米格-25效应verified
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