Murphy's law

Murphy's law is a popular adage that states that "things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance," or more commonly, "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." A number of variants on the rule have been formulated, as have several corollaries. [Murphy's SECOND law] states that "any solution can create its own problems"; this is obvious as the solution is subject to the first law. Quotes If there is a wrong way to do something, then someone will do it. Version attributed to Edward A. Murphy in "Murphy Lives!" by Robert L. Forward, in Science 83 (January-February 1983), p. 78 If there's more than one way to do a job and one of those ways will end in disaster, then somebody will do it that way. Version attributed to Edward A. Murphy in People Magazine (31 January 1983), p. 82 If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way. According to Robert Murphy (son of Edward A. Murphy, Jr.) his father's statement was along these lines; reported in People (31 January 1983), p. 82; alternately reported as "If there is a wrong way to do something, then someone will do it", in "Murphy Lives!" by Robert L. Forward, Science 83 (January-February 1983), p. 78; also commonly reported as, "If anything can go wrong, it will", in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (1982) edited by J. A. Simpson, p. 4. Anything That Can Possibly Go Wrong, Does Epigraph of The Butcher: The Ascent of Yerupaja (1952) by John Sack Colonel Stapp's favorite takeoff on sober scientific laws — Murphy's Law, Stapp calls it — 'Everything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong' Lloyd Mallan, in Men, Rockets and Space Rats (1955), possibly the earliest printed use of Murphy's name in connection with the law. Murphy's Quantum Law: Anything that can, could have, or will go wrong, is going wrong, all at once. Paul Dickson, in The Official Rules (1982) 0099264900 With diligent effort he has established that there is no statistical basis for Murphy’s Law. He has also established that he believes in it anyway. John Barnes, Mother of Storms (1994) p. 511 (from the first mass market paperback edition published by Tor Books (May 1995) 0-812-53345-3) External links The Annals of Improbable Research tracks down the origins of Murphy's law Murphy's Laws Origin Visual Archive of Murphy's Law Books Worldwide The House of Murphy Mathematical formula for Murphy's Law 1952 proverb citation 1955 term citation of phrase "Murphy's Law" Reference to 1941 citation of the proverb Murphy's Law entry in the Jargon File Murphy's Law was Born Here A collection of humorous Murphy's Laws Murphy's Law of Combat Category:Themes