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CARBONUNDRUM

                                                         WAR_AND_PEACE

Quoting from Tolstoy's
"War and Peace" (1865-1869):

     For an order to be certainly executed, it is necessary
     that a man should order what can be executed. But to
     know what can and what cannot be executed is
     impossible, not only in the case of Napoleon's
     invasion of Russia in which millions participated, but
     even in the simplest event, for in either case
     millions of obstacles may arise to prevent its
     execution. Every order executed is always one of an
     immense number unexecuted. All the impossible orders
     inconsistent with the course of events remain
     unexecuted. Only the possible ones get linked up with
     a consecutive series of commands corresponding to a
     series of events, and are executed

       Second Epilogue, Chapter VI p. 511 (WC, text here GP)


                      Note (if you care) the Wordsworth
                      press translation uses the word
                      "command", instead of "order":

                           For a command to be certainly executed
                           it is necessary that a man should
                           command what can be executed.  But to
                           know what can and what cannot be
                           executed is impossible ...

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