Mode error

Okay kiddo, so when we use machines like computers or airplanes, we want them to work perfectly, right? But sometimes they make mistakes, just like us. One type of mistake is called a "mode error."

Let's use a toy car as an example. Imagine you have a remote control for your car that has buttons for "move forward" and "move backward." But then imagine that sometimes, when you try to make it go forward, it actually goes backward, or vice versa. This would be a mode error - the car is in the wrong mode or setting, and it does the opposite of what you want it to do.

In bigger machines like airplanes, mode errors can be really dangerous. If the machine is in the wrong "mode" or setting, it might do something completely different than what the pilot or operator intended. So we have to be very careful when we design and use machines, to minimize the risk of mode errors happening.