Murphy's Laws


Murphy's Law

If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.


Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives

Anything that can go wrong, will.


Hanlon's Razor

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.


Sturgeon's Law

Ninety percent of everything is crap.


Murphy's Paradox

Doing it the hard way is always easier.


Schopenhauer's Law of Entropy

If you put a spoonful of wine in a barrel full of sewage, you get sewage. If you put a spoonful of sewage in a barrel full of wine, you get sewage.


The Siddhartha Principle

You cannot cross a river in two strides.


Spencer's Laws of Data

  1. Anyone can make a decision given enough facts.
  2. A good manager can make a decision without enough facts.
  3. A perfect manager can operate in perfect ignorance.

Weber's Definition

An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.


Lefty Gomez's Law

If you don't throw it, they can't hit it.


Meadow's Maxim

You can't push on a rope.


Patry's Law

If you know something can go wrong, and take due precautions against it, something else will go wrong.


Richard's Complementary Rules of Ownership

  1. If you keep anything long enough, you can throw it away.
  2. If you throw anything away, you will need it as soon as it is no longer accessible.
Erbenich's Extension: If you keep it and you need it, you won't be able to find it.


Rogers' Law

If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.


Howe's Law

Everyone has a scheme that will not work.

Munder's Corollary: Everyone who does not work has a scheme that does.


The 90/90 Rule of Project Schedules

The first 90 percent of the task takes 10 percent of the time. The last 10 percent of the task takes 90 percent of the time.


O'Brien's Law

Nothing is ever done for the right reasons.


Levy's Ninth Law

Only God can make an random selection.


Hardin's Law

You can never do just one thing.


Roberts' Axiom

Only errors exist.


Lerman's Law of Technology

Any technical problem can be overcome given enough time and money.

Lerman's Corollary: You are never given enough time or money.


Finagle's Eighth Rule

Teamwork is essential. It allows you to blame someone else.


First Rule of Acting

Whatever happens, look as if you intended it to happen.


Jilly and Rob's Conclusion

Life is too serious to be taken very seriously.


Law of the Individual

Nobody really cares or understands what anyone else is doing.


Beach's Law

No two identical parts are alike.


Hane's Law

There is no limit to how bad things can get.


Jay's First Law of Leadership

Changing things is central to leadership, and changing them before anyone else does is creative leadership.


Paul's Law

You can't fall off the floor.


Evans' Law

If you can keep your head when everyone about you is losing his, then you just don't understand the problem.


Thine's Law

Nature abhors people.


Quantization Revision of Murphy's Law

Everything goes wrong all at once.

Am i building character yet?