Hi, the first two paragraphs start out by describing how peoples typically thought about catastrophic failures. The third paragraph introduces a new theory, that of self organized criticality where small failures can cascade. The fourth paragraph then illustrates the new theory with the sand example, which then carry's over to the fifth paragraph. This summary is a strong match for E.
A is wrong because the author doesn't endorse the old theory. B is wrong because we aren't really talking about a common misconception, and the sand example isn't a consequence of the misconception. C is wrong because we aren't looking at an exception to a rule, we're talking about an old theory and a new theory. D is wrong because it fails to bring in the two theories.
