In software, we are often tempted to use the most powerful, most flexible, most adaptable tool available. It might be more expensive, more complex, more error-prone, harder-to-debug, etc. But hey, we think, we're smart and careful and we're not afraid to use sharp tools to get the job done.
In the world of electonics, a soldering iron is the ultimate "sharp tool". It allows you to connect anything to anything. But, when was the last time you used a soldering iron to connect your computer to a network cable, USB cable, video cable, power cable, speaker cable, etc? When was the last time you soldered a new video card or RAM board into your computer? The answer is "never". Outside of specialized applications (e.g. research & manufacturing), one never solders components together. At the user level (& even systems assembly), it is always better to have well-defined and unambiguous pluggable interfaces. I cannot accidentally mix up my USB cable and my power cord. I need not worry about getting my video card and memory cards mixed up plugging them into the motherboard. I don't have to worry about reversing the power and data cables to my disk drive.
Similar unique and "type-enforcing" interfaces are used in most other areas where humans can combine simpler elements, including light bulbs & sockets, plumbing pipes & fittings, hardware nuts & bolts, car keys & ignition switches, even CD/DVD disks vs LP, cassette, 8-track (the idea of a unique interface type isn't very new).
While nothing involving humans can ever be guarenteed 100% correct, simply preventing the obvious errors (e.g. power cable <-> USB plug) will eliminate 99.9% of the problem. Shouldn't software take advantage of this simple idea?
