Train wreck at Montparnasse, France (1895).

Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. Product failure ranges from failure to sell the product to fracture of the product, in the worst cases leading to personal injury, the province of forensic engineering.

Failure in science[link]

Thomas J. Watson is attributed with saying "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate". Wired Magazine editor Kevin Kelly likewise explains that a great deal can be learned from things going unexpectedly, and that part of science's success comes from keeping blunders "small, manageable, constant, and trackable". He uses the example of engineers and programmers who push systems to their limits, breaking them to learn about them. Kelly also warns against creating a culture (e.g. school system) that punishes failure harshly, because this inhibits a creative process, and risks teaching people not to communicate important failures with others (e.g. Null results).^[1]

Criteria for failure[link]

The criteria for failure are heavily dependent on context of use, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. A situation considered to be a failure by one might be considered a success by another, particularly in cases of direct competition or a zero-sum game. Similarly, the degree of success or failure in a situation may be differently viewed by distinct observers or participants, such that a situation that one considers to be a failure, another might consider to be a success, a qualified success or a neutral situation.

It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or heuristics, to judge the success or failure of a situation may itself be a significant task.

Types of failure[link]

Failure can be differentially perceived from the viewpoints of the evaluators. A person who is only interested in the final outcome of an activity would consider it to be an Outcome Failure if the core issue has not been resolved or a core need is not met. A failure can also be a process failure whereby although the activity is completed successfully, a person may still feel dissatisfied if the underlying process is perceived to be below expected standard or benchmark.

1. Failure to anticipate
2. Failure to perceive
3. Failure to carry out a task

Loser is a derogatory term for a person who is (according to the standards of the observer) generally unsuccessful.

Commercial failures[link]

A commercial failure is a product that does not reach expectations of success.

Most of the items listed below had high expectations, significant financial investments, and/or widespread publicity, but fell far short of success. Due to the subjective nature of "success" and "meeting expectations," there can be disagreement about what constitutes a "major flop."

• For flops in computer and video gaming, see List of commercial failures in computer and video gaming
• For company failures related to the 1997–2001 Dot-com bubble, see Dot-com company
• See also Vaporware
• Box-office bomb

Internet memes[link]

Adaptation of above image illustrating an Internet meme

"Fail" is the name of a popular Internet meme where users superimpose a caption, often the word "fail" or "epic fail", onto photos or short videos depicting unsuccessful events or people falling short of expectations.^[2] In July 2003, a contributor to Urban Dictionary wrote that the term, "fail," could be used as an interjection, "when one disapproves of something," citing the example: "You actually bought that? FAIL." This most likely originated as a shortened form of "You fail" or, more fully, "You fail it," the taunting "game over" message in the 1998 Japanese video game Blazing Star, notorious for its fractured English.^[3][4][5] There is an entire Internet site dedicated to "fails" called Fail Blog.^[3] The #fail hash tag is used on the microblogging site Twitter to indicate contempt or displeasure, and the image that accompanies the message that the site is overloaded is referred to as the "fail whale".^[6]

Failboat or consignment of fail is a popular macro series, featuring images of cargo vessels tipping over or shedding cargo, with captions such as 'the failboat has arrived', or 'all aboard the failboat'. The original vessel whose image was used was the MV Cougar Ace,^{[citation needed]} although the Ital Florida, the MV Napoli and even the SS Normandy, sunk at her berth in New York harbour, have appeared.

The term "miserable failure" has also been popularized as a result of a widely known "Google bombing," which caused Google searches for the term to turn up the White House biography of George W. Bush.^[7]

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Perrow, Charles. Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies. New York: Basic Books, 1983. Paperback reprint, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-691-00412-9
• Sandage, Scott A. Born Losers: A History of Failure in America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-674-01510-X, ISBN 0-674-02107-X

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Failure

• Designing Building Failures
• Know Your Meme: FAIL
• Zimmer, Ben (August 7, 2009), "How Fail Went From Verb to Interjection", New York Times Magazine, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/magazine/09FOB-onlanguage-t.html .
• Association for the Study of Failure from Japan

Von Miller

Miller in the 2011 NFL season.
No. 58     Denver Broncos
Outside linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-04-26) April 26, 1989 (age 23)
Place of birth: Dallas, Texas
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school: DeSoto High School, DeSoto, Texas
College: Texas A&M
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Debuted in 2011 for the Denver Broncos
Career history
Denver Broncos (2011–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Freshman All-Big 12 (2007) NCAA Sacks leader with 18 (2009) First-team All-American (2009, 2010) First-team All-Big 12 (2009, 2010) Butkus Award (2010) AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2011) Pro Bowl (2011) All-Pro (2011) AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 11, 2011)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Tackles 64 Sacks 11.5 Interceptions 0 Forced Fumbles 2 Stats at NFL.com

Von Miller (born March 26, 1989) is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Texas A&M University, earned All-American honors twice, and was recognized as the outstanding college linebacker in the nation. The Broncos drafted him with the second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and he was a Pro Bowl selection and received All-Pro honors as an NFL rookie.

Early years[link]

Miller was born in Dallas, Texas to parents Von and Gloria Miller. He attended DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas, where in his junior year he recorded 37 tackles, 7 sacks, 14 tackles for loss (TFL) and 12 quarterback hurries. As a senior, he was named the District 8-5A Defensive MVP after making 76 tackles, 6 sacks, and 14 TFL.^[1] He played with future Aggie teammates Tony Jerod-Eddie, Cyrus Gray, and Garrick Williams.^[2]

Rivals.com rated him as the 29th-best prospect in Texas and the 15th-best weakside linebacker in the nation. Rivals.com listed his weight as 210 pounds.^[3]

College career[link]

Miller attended Texas A&M University, where he played for the Texas A&M Aggies football team from 2007 to 2010. As a freshman at defensive end in 2007, he was named Freshman All-Big 12 by The Sporting News after posting 22 tackles, including 10 solo stops. He recorded two sacks, four tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. He played in a 4-2-5 defense. He weighed 220 pounds during his freshman year.

In the spring of 2008, newly hired head coach Mike Sherman was discouraged by Miller's habits of skipping class and failing to produce during practice. Sherman decided to suspend Miller for that spring. Disappointed, Miller considered transferring, but upon his father's insistence, stayed. Miller then adopted a more serious attitude.^[4]

As a sophomore in 2008, he played at weakside linebacker under Joe Kines' 4–3 defense. Miller saw action in all 12 games, making 44 tackles, including 25 solo stops, and leading the team with 3.5 sacks. He made 7.5 tackles for loss, forced a pair of fumbles, and recovered two more. His role was more confined to pass coverage, as opposed to rushing the quarterback, thus he wasn't able to showcase his pass-rushing abilities. In the final seven Big 12 games, he compiled just eight tackles.^[5]

As a junior in 2009, Miller adopted the role of the jack position, a defensive end/linebacker hybrid, which allowed him to utilize his pass rushing abilities. He enjoyed a breakout season for the Aggies, leading the nation in sacks with 17 and ranking fourth in the nation with 21 tackles for loss.^[6] For his efforts, Von Miller was named first team All Big-12 at defensive end and was named a first-team All-American by Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.^[7][8] He became the first Aggie to be named a first team All-American since Jason Webster in 1999.^[9] Then-Aggies defensive coordinator Joe Kines compared Miller to the late Derrick Thomas.^[10] Miller then studied and watched film of Thomas to familiarize himself with his game.

In 2010, Miller switched to playing as a 3–4 outside linebacker under Tim DeRuyter's defense. Early in the season, Miller suffered a high ankle sprain, that held him back for the first six games.^[6] He posted 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss.^[11] Again he made first-team All-Big 12 honors,^[12] and won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker.^[13] He was also named a consensus first-team All-American.^[14] He received first team All-American honors from Walter Camp, Scout.com, Pro Football Weekly,^[15] ESPN.com,^[16] and the Associated Press.^[17]

Professional career[link]

Pre-draft[link]

Miller, who likely would have been a second round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft had he passed on his senior season,^[18] entered the 2011 NFL Draft regarded as one of the best 3–4 outside linebackers available.^[19] He was projected to be a top 5 pick by notable draft evaluators.^[20][21][22]

At the 2011 Senior Bowl, he was the Defensive MVP.^[23]

Among linebackers at the 2011 NFL Combine, he ranked 2nd in the 40-yard dash, 3rd in the vertical jump, 1st in the broad jump, 3rd in the 20-yard shuttle, T-1st in the 3-cone drill, and 1st in the 60-yard shuttle. His 11.15-second 60-yard shuttle broke the combine linebacker record. At the Texas A&M Pro Day in March 2011, Miller ran a 4.49 40-yard dash.^[24]

In March 2011, Miller was selected to represent top flight rookies in the NFL Labor Union talks.^[27] He was persuaded by LaDainian Tomlinson to join the lawsuit.^[4]

In March 2011, Dave Razzano, a former NFL scout with 20 years of experience, compared Miller to Vernon Gholston. Gholston was drafted sixth overall by the New York Jets in 2008, but failed to record a sack in 42 games, and was later released. In regards to Miller, Razzano stated: "In looking at Big-12 tape, he does not have a motor. He doesn't chase hard. They run at him, and he doesn't fight off blockers. When he gets sacks, a lot of times he's not getting blocked. He's a one-move guy."^[28] During the Texas A&M Pro Day, however, one scout compared him to Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas, while Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer compared him to Cardinals linebacker Joey Porter.^[29] NFL Network Analyst Mike Mayock, who rated Miller as the second-best player in the draft, stated that Miller reminds him of a smaller version of DeMarcus Ware.^[30] Miller's then-personal trainer, Dan Brandenburg, who also worked with first round picks Clay Matthews III and Sean Weatherspoon, stated Miller is the best athlete of all three.^[4]

Denver Broncos[link]

Miller was drafted by the Denver Broncos second overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was the highest selected linebacker since LaVar Arrington went No. 2 to the Washington Redskins in 2000. He also become the Aggies' highest draft pick since Quentin Coryatt, who was selected second overall in 1992.^[31] Former Broncos quarterback John Elway, who is also the executive vice president of the franchise, said "[Miller's] a type of guy that comes around every 10 years."^[32]

On July 28, 2011, Miller officially signed with the Denver Broncos. He wears #58 in honor of his favorite football player, late former Chiefs player and Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas.^[33]

On September 12, 2011, in his first career play from scrimmage, Von forced a fumble. On September 18, 2011, he had his first sack on Andy Dalton when the Broncos played the Cincinnati Bengals.^[34]

He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the New York Jets.^[35]

Miller was selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl.^[36]

Miller was fined three times during his rookie season.^[37]

He was named AP Defensive Rookie of the year for the 2011-2012 season. ^[38]

Personal[link]

His parents, who were both athletes in high school and college, now own a power supply business.^[4] He has a younger brother named Vins.^[39]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Denver Broncos bio
• Texas A&M Aggies bio
• NFL combine profile
• ESPN bio
• Sport Science episode on Miller