Murphy's Law and More

Murphy's Law

If anything can go wrong, it will.go wrong.

Corollaries:

1. Nothing is as easy as it looks.

2. Everything takes longer than you think.

3. If there is a possibility of several things goin wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.

4. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly develop.

5. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.

6. Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.

7. Every solution breeds new problems.

8. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.(and determined)

9. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

The Murphy Philosophy:

Smile ... tomorrow will be worse.

Murphy's Constant:

Matter will be damaged in direct proportion to its value.

Quantization Revision of Murphy's Law::

Everything goes wrong all at once.

Hill's Commentaries on Murphy's Law:

1. If we lose much by having things go wrong, take all possible care.

2. If we have nothing to lose by change, relax.

3. If we have everything to gain by change, relax.

4. If it doesn't matter, it does not matter.

O'Toole's Commentary on
Murphy's Law:

Murphy was an optimist.

Zymurgy's Seventh Exception to Murphy's Law:

When it rains, it pours.

Boling's Postulate:

If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it.

White's Statement:

Don't lose heart ...

Owen's Commentary on White's Statement:

they might want to cut it out ...

Byrd's Addition to, Owen's Commentary onWhite's Statement:

... and they want to avoid a lengthy search.

Iles's Law:

There is always an easier way to do it.

Corollaries:

1. When looking directly at the easier way, especially for long periods, you will not see it.

Neither will Iles.

Chisholm's Second Law:

When things are going well, something will go wrong.

Corollaries:

1 . When things just can't get any worse, they will.

2. Anytime things appear to be going better, you have overlooked something.

Chisholm's Third Law:

Proposals, as understood by the proposer, will be judged otherwise by others.

Corollaries:

I. If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody will.

2. If You do something which you are sure wi meet with everybody's approval, somebody won't like it.

3. Procedures devised to implement the purpose won't quite work.