Murphy Law - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Boomsly · 10-16-2004, 11:42 PM

Heard of it? post your experiences.
Havn't heard of it? I'll try and give you the run down the best I can.
It's when something happens when you don't want it tohappen the most or just something that usually happens but seems for weird.

For instance your running late for work and there just happens to be alot of traffic, or a traffic jam.

or for another example
Your taking something apart the last part/piece that needs to be removed is giving you an incredibly hard time. ex. Taking shelf off of a wall the last screw is as stubborn as hell and you use nearly all your stenrgth to finally get it out.

Just dumb crap that happens often but seems very odd.

Fremen · 10-17-2004, 12:20 AM

Quote:

The Origin of 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."

So who was Murphy anyway?
Born in 1917, Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was one of the engineers on the rocket-sled experiments that were done by the United States Air Force in 1949 to test human acceleration tolerances (USAF project MX981).

One experiment involved a set of 16 accelerometers mounted to different parts of the subject's body. There were two ways each sensor could be glued to its mount. Of course, somebody managed to install all 16 the wrong way around.

Murphy then made the original form of his pronouncement, which the test subject (Major John Paul Stapp) quoted at a news conference a few days later.

Within months, "Murphy's Law" had spread to various technical cultures connected to aerospace engineering, and finally reached the Webster's dictionary in 1958.

Tragically (and perhaps typically), the popular cliche we call "Murphy's Law" was never uttered by Edward Murphy.

Murphy's Law applies to Murphy's Law, too

The traditional version of Murphy's Law ("anything that can go wrong, will") is actually "Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives." Finagle's Law was popularized by science fiction author Larry Niven in several stories depicting a frontier culture of asteroid miners; this "Belter" culture professed a religion and/or running joke involving the worship of the dread god Finagle and his mad prophet Murphy.

Since then, the relentless truth inherent in Murphy's Law has become a persistent thorn in the side of humanity.

Just thought I'd throw that in there to clarify the saying.

sadistikdreams · 10-17-2004, 12:27 AM

oh shit

thats crayzee

Boomsly · 10-18-2004, 09:54 AM

Whoa! I never bothered to check the dictionary to see if there was an actual definition, I didn't think there was. Thats awesome, thanks Fremen.

Tophat665 · 10-25-2004, 06:03 PM

Some corrollaries to Murphy's law:
Left to themselves, things will go from bad to worse.
If it jams, force it. If it breaks, you needed an new one anyway.
Do not fuck with Mrs. Murphy.
All things being equal, fat people use more soap than thin people.
Nature sides with the hidden flaw.
Logic does not fix things, it just gives you a reason why they went wrong.
Mathematics will not solve anything either, it just allows you to screw up by the numbers.
Computers are no help at all: all they do is high speed mathematics.
Where are we going and what am I doing in this handbasket?
Interchangeable parts will not.
Non stick surfaces will.
There is no such thing as a foolproof plan, because fools are so ingenious.
In any softwear, there will be enough bugs that the beata testers will be convinced that they found them all, and only leave the really critical ones in the final release for the user to find.
It's not a bug. It's a feature.
There is almost no problem that cannot be solved with a suitable application of high explosives.
If you are one of thoses people who believes that nothing is impossible, try strinking a match on jelly.
Murphy was an optimist.

10-16-2004, 11:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
Boomsly Upright Location: Canada	Murphy Law Heard of it? post your experiences. Havn't heard of it? I'll try and give you the run down the best I can. It's when something happens when you don't want it tohappen the most or just something that usually happens but seems for weird. For instance your running late for work and there just happens to be alot of traffic, or a traffic jam. or for another example Your taking something apart the last part/piece that needs to be removed is giving you an incredibly hard time. ex. Taking shelf off of a wall the last screw is as stubborn as hell and you use nearly all your stenrgth to finally get it out. Just dumb crap that happens often but seems very odd.

10-17-2004, 12:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	oh shit thats crayzee __________________ "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials." -Lin Yutang hearts, by d.a.

10-25-2004, 06:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	Some corrollaries to Murphy's law: Left to themselves, things will go from bad to worse. If it jams, force it. If it breaks, you needed an new one anyway. Do not fuck with Mrs. Murphy. All things being equal, fat people use more soap than thin people. Nature sides with the hidden flaw. Logic does not fix things, it just gives you a reason why they went wrong. Mathematics will not solve anything either, it just allows you to screw up by the numbers. Computers are no help at all: all they do is high speed mathematics. Where are we going and what am I doing in this handbasket? Interchangeable parts will not. Non stick surfaces will. There is no such thing as a foolproof plan, because fools are so ingenious. In any softwear, there will be enough bugs that the beata testers will be convinced that they found them all, and only leave the really critical ones in the final release for the user to find. It's not a bug. It's a feature. There is almost no problem that cannot be solved with a suitable application of high explosives. If you are one of thoses people who believes that nothing is impossible, try strinking a match on jelly. Murphy was an optimist. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

10-18-2004, 09:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
Boomsly Upright Location: Canada	Whoa! I never bothered to check the dictionary to see if there was an actual definition, I didn't think there was. Thats awesome, thanks Fremen.