Anna Karenina principle

Etymology
Referring to 's 1877 novel ', which begins: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Popularized by American scientist (born 1937) in his 1997 non-fiction book ', in which he uses it to illustrate why so few wild animals have been successfully domesticated throughout history.

Proper noun

 * 1) A notion stating that the success of an endeavor depends upon the fulfilment of several essential conditions, and a deficiency in any one of these factors dooms the endeavor to failure.