The impression I got was not that they lied to their own computers, but rather those who programmed the alarms did so inadequately and could not handle the complexity of the transactions.
His doctor analogy is good, but not exactly perfect. Something more along the lines of hiring a med student for your physical instead of a grey-haired professional.
"So some trading desks took the most arcane security, made of slices of mortgages, and entered it into the computer if it were a simple bond with a set interest rate and duration."
I find the lying to your doctor analogy very good to describe this kind of behavior.
His doctor analogy is good, but not exactly perfect. Something more along the lines of hiring a med student for your physical instead of a grey-haired professional.