Murphy's Law and Other Axioms

Oct 10, 2011
Brenda Gargus

Murphy's Law - taliesin

Murphy's Law is often quoted when things go wrong. There are other laws and principles that use this same foundation.

Murphy’s Law, the epigram that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, has been attributed to many authors. From mathematician Augustus De Morgan in 1866 to author Anne Roe in a Genetic Psychology book in 1951, the definition of Murphy’s Law can be found.

The book Murphy’s Law and Other Reason Why Things Go Wrong (1977), states that the law was named after a Captain Edward Murphy who said he had a lab technician who always messed up things.

History of Murphy’s Law

Nicolas Spark in his History of Murphy’s Law completed intensive research to find out where the name really originated. His book gives documented evidence that it did most likely refer to Edward Murphy. Instead of a name of honor, the title was given as a sense of mockery from Murphy’s team because he was so arrogant.

Of course Murphy’s son, Robert disputes this and claims that Murphy thought of the term himself. Murphy’s Law, while very well known, is not the only immutable law and principle that governs our society. College professors have written books that describe the Peter Principle and Parkinson’s Law. These laws, while not as well known or recognized, can be used and practiced for amusement and logic.

Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will (and at the worst possible moment.)

Corollaries of Murphy’s Law

The following are a derived from the corollaries of this law:

The other line always moves the fastest.
The race isn’t always to the swift or the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.
When in doubt, use a bigger hammer.
If you play with anything long enough, you’ll break it.
If everything seems to be going fine, you’ve probably overlooked something.
Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

Peter Principle: In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.

Corollaries of Peter Principle

The following are inferred by the corollaries of the Peter Principle:

All useful work is done by those who have not yet reached their levels of incompetence.
Cream rises until it sours.

Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill time available for its completion.

Corollaries of Parkinson’s Law

The following are corollaries of this law:

An administrator wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals.

Administrators make work for each other.

A couple of other immutable laws that are more obscure than the ones listed are:

Fry’s Observation: The more challenging the kid, the less he or she will be absent.
Kling’s Axiom: Any simple idea can be worded in a complicated way.

As everyone knows there is a plethora of axioms and wise saying that can be used in almost any circumstance. The following include a small portion of these sayings.

For Teachers

No matter how hard you teach a thing, some student is certain not to learn it.
Everything takes longer than you think.
NO amount of careful planning will ever beat dumb luck.
There are three kinds of lies: white lies, damned lies, and statistics.
A school could exist without heat, light, and water, but not a copier.
Whoever said the worst students aren’t creative should look at their excuses.

For Bosses

You can’t have everything, where would you put it?
A good theory might be worth a thousand words, but that won’t make it any more practical.
One person’s exuberance is the next person’s annoyance.
You can plan anything you like; but don’t expect it to happen that way.
People who ask for a minute of your time don’t have very accurate watches.
Nobody notices big errors.

Random Craziness

The greater the hurry, the slower the traffic.
Extracurricular activities sometimes are neither extra nor curricular.
Things don’t get lost, but they sometimes are carefully put away in some strange places.
If Saint Peter uses multiple-choice tests, we are all in for trouble.
These are the good old days of the next generation.
Kids are the only future the human race has.
Any change looks terrible at first.
Everybody who does not work has a scheme that does.

Sources

Spark, Nick. A History of Murphy’s Law. Periscope Publishing, 2006

Murphy's Laws Site

Brenda Gargus - Brenda Gargus has a Masters' degree in Psychology and an undergraduate degree in Education. She has taught for 29 years in a variety of ...