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I learned this knot as the GRB - "Guide's Rappel Brake" and also as an autoblock. There are several entries each year in "Accidents in North American Mountaineering" that describe failure to properly use a mechanical belay device. I recall no accidents as the result of a faulty autoblock knot. This knot is aligned with the KISS principle from software engineering. It is remarkably simple and effective.

Interesting to read this story of its origin.

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Interesting that you mention "Accidents in North American Mountaineering". This is the climbing equivalent of the Startup Post-Mortems story that was posted the other day. They publish them every year and they're a great read. Like startup failures, they tend to cluster around a few common mistakes--typically failure to anticipate weather conditions and overconfidence in one's abilities. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy climbing and mountaineering.

The KISS principal is used outside of software engineering, I believe it was popularized by the US Navy.

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