by Karen Tung
You must be familiar with this. The telephone rings loudly when you are busy working. When you finally decide to answer it stops ringing. Then you expect them to call again immediately. Nothing. As soon as you get back to work the phone rings again. Worse, you grab the phone and it turns out to be a salesman or someone who has dialed the wrong number. Anyway, you just don’t understand why such stupid things keep happening to you. Fortunately, you can stop complaining and just attribute them to Murphy’s Law, the unshakable, ever-lasting, and most logical rule of all. It’s a philosophy to make certain trivial and nonsensical failures reasonable. Next time you encounter things that can’t be explained with reason and logic, try to apply Murphy’s Law. At least it can make you feel better. Who is Murphy, the greatest genius on earth? What has led him to find out the truth beyond the truth? Born in 1917, Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was one of the engineers on rocket-sled experiments to test human acceleration tolerances conducted by the United States Air Force in 1949. One test is involved a set of 16 accelerometers which had to be installed to different parts of the subject’s body. There were two ways to set up each sensor, right or wrong. Of course, the one who managed this put all 16 into the wrong position. Murphy then realized the universal principle: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Within just a few months “Murphy’s Law” had spread to various technical fields relating to aerospace engineering. It has now become an everyday part of the English language. More significantly, “Murphy’s Law” was added to Webster’s Dictionary in 1958. Since then there have been many applications of Murphy’s Law. I’d like to share with you some interesting examples. Jones’ Law of Publishing: Some errors will always go unnoticed until the book is in print. Bloch’s Corollary: The first page the author turns to upon receiving an advanced copy will be the page containing the worst error. (If you are a loyal reader of The Foreign Exchange you’ll know what I mean.) Hlade’s Law: If you have a difficult task give it to a lazy man—he will find an easier way to do it. (This must be why technology has been able to develop so rapidly.) Finagle’s Law: Teamwork is essential. It allows you to blame someone else. Here are some additional Laws for students. (The first two) Laws of Applied Terror: 1. When reviewing your notes before an exam, the most important one will be illegible. 2. The more studying you did for the exam, the less sure you are as to which answer they want. Fortunately (or unfortunately?) I understand this last Law very well. But at least I feel better that there are more people sharing the same experience. Murphy’s Law, a collection of others’ wisdom and past experiences, helps you look at your own frustrating days optimistically. a
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May 2024
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