it's interesting that it seems to be sort of unitless. So, if the unit of your design is linear but the unknowns operate on the square or the cube of that then

it's interesting that it seems to be sort of unitless. So, if the unit of your design is linear but the unknowns operate on the square or the cube of that then the effective safety factor is much smaller. For example I could design a 12 inch bucket to hold water and then say I'd better make the handle twice as strong in case somebody fills it past the line indicating it is full but of course that will be super-linear in its effect and my safety margin is way less than a factor of 2.