History Main / MurphysLaw

->''"The first experiment already illustrates a truth of the theory, well confirmed by practice, what-ever can happen will happen if we make trials enough."''
-->-- '''Augustus de Morgan''', [[OlderThanTheyThink 1866]]

Another way of looking at this law is the '50-50-90 Rule', which is described as 'If there is a 50-50 chance, 90% of the time it will go wrong'

As originally applied, Murphy's Law -- coined by, and named after, U.S. Air Force engineer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Murphy,_Jr Edward A. Murphy, Jr.]]-- was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers: a device shouldn't be made so that it ''can'' be used incorrectly in the first place, a practice commonly referred to as [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough Idiot-Proofing]] or "defensive design". Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. Had Murphy's Law been heeded, the pin would have been designed so that it ''could not be inserted backwards''.

'''Murphy's Law''' is summed up as "If something ''can'' be used or done a right way and a wrong way, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and the wrong way will lead to catastrophe]], it ''will'' [[LethallyStupid be used or done the wrong way]]."

-->--'''Augustus de Morgan''', [[OlderThanTheyThink 1866]]

'''Murphy's Law''' is summed up as "[[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong Whatever can go wrong]], ''will'' go wrong."

'''Murphy's Law''' is summed up as "If something can be used or done a right way and a wrong way, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and the wrong way will lead to catastrophe]], it ''will'' [[LethallyStupid be used or done the wrong way]]."

* ...the UK drama series with James Nesbitt... you'll have to make [[{{Series/MurphysLaw}} a page]] for it.

As originally applied, Murphy's Law -- coined by, and named after, U.S. Air Force engineer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Murphy,_Jr Edward A. Murphy, Jr.]]-- was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers: a device shouldn't be made so that it ''can'' be used incorrectly in the first place, a practice commonly referred to as [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough Idiot-Proofing]]. Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. Had Murphy's Law been heeded, the pin would have been designed so that it ''could not be inserted backwards''.

* ...the webcomic, it's under Webcomic/MurphysLaw, or possibly, ''Webcomic/PrivateMurphysLaw''.

Murphy's Law is also the most commonly used term for the infamously pessimistic maxim, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." The creator was not happy that his important advice was [[MemeticMutation afterwards taken out of context]] -- this itself became an example of [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Murphy's Law in action]]. Given that the actual Murphy's Law is something different, we cover this mutation under FinaglesLaw [[note]]A name created to give a proper name to the more common derivation[[/note]] instead. However, on this wiki, it references quite a few things, so we've made this page to help people figure out which one they really want.

If you want...
* ...the trope "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong", it's under FinaglesLaw.
* ...the webcomic, it's under Webcomic/MurphysLaw.
* ...the trope about a bed that traps people, it's MurphysBed.

* ...the law as laid down by Alex Murphy, that's Franchise/{{RoboCop}}.



Also, Murphy was an optimist.

Murphy's Law is summed up as "If something can be used or done a right way and a wrong way, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and the wrong way will lead to catastrophe]], it ''will'' [[LethallyStupid be used or done the wrong way]]."

Murphy's Law is summed up as "If something ''can'' be used or done a right way and a wrong way, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and the wrong way will lead to catastrophe]], it ''will'' [[LethallyStupid be used or done the wrong way]]."

Murphy's Law is summed up as "If something ''can'' be used or done a right way and a wrong way, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and the wrong way will lead to catastrophy]], it ''will'' [[LethallyStupid be used or done the wrong way]]."

The original Murphy's Law -- coined by, and named after, U.S. Air Force engineer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Murphy,_Jr Edward A. Murphy, Jr.]]-- was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers: a device shouldn't be made so that it ''can'' be used incorrectly in the first place, a practice commonly referred to as [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough Idiot-Proofing]]. Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. Had Murphy's Law been heeded, the pin would have been designed so that it ''could not be inserted backwards''.

The original Murphy's Law -- coined by, and named after, U.S. Air Force engineer [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Murphy,_Jr. Edward A. Murphy, Jr.]] -- was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers: a device shouldn't be made so that it ''can'' be used incorrectly in the first place, a practice commonly referred to as [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough Idiot-Proofing]]. Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. Had Murphy's Law been heeded, the pin would have been designed so that it ''could not be inserted backwards''.

Murphy's Law is summed up as "If something ''can'' be used or done a right way and a wrong way, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and the wrong way will lead to catastrophy]], it ''will'' [[LethallyStupid be used or done the wrong way]]." The original Murphy's Law was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers: a device shouldn't be made so that it ''can'' be used incorrectly in the first place, a practice commonly referred to as [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough Idiot-Proofing]]. Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. Had Murphy's Law been heeded, the pin would have been designed so that it ''could not be inserted backwards''.

->''The first experiment already illustrates a truth of the theory, well confirmed by practice, what-ever can happen will happen if we make trials enough.''
->-'''Augustus de Morgan''', [[OlderThanTheyThink 1866]]

Murphy's Law is also the most commonly used term for the infamously pessimistic maxim, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." The creator was not happy that his important advice was [[MemeticMutation afterwards taken out of context]] -- this itself became an example of [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Murphy's Law in action]]. Given that the actual Murphy's Law is something different, we cover this mutation under FinaglesLaw [[note]]A name created by to give a proper name to the more common derivation[[/note]] instead. However, on this wiki, it references quite a few things, so we've made this page to help people figure out which one they really want.

Murphy's Law is the most commonly used term for the infamously pessimistic maxim, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." [[note]]The actual Murphy's Law is something different, although most people refer to it in this form, which is why we have FinaglesLaw.[[/note]] However, on this wiki, it references quite a few things, so we've made this page to help people figure out which one they really want.

* ...the trope as applied to fiction, it's under FinaglesLaw.

The actual Murphy's Law is more nearly "If parts can be assembled a right way and a wrong way, they will be assembled the wrong way." Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. In fact, the original Murphy's Law was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers (a device shouldn't be made so that it ''can'' be assembled wrongly in the first place), and the creator was not happy that it was afterwards taken out of context -- this itself became an example of [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Murphy's Law in action]].

The actual Murphy's Law is more nearly "If parts can be assembled a right way and a wrong way, they will be assembled the wrong way." Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. In fact, the original Murphy's Law was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers (if a toaster can be plugged in backwards, it's the engineer's doing), and the creator was not happy that it was afterwards taken out of context -- this itself became an example of [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Murphy's Law in action]].

* ...the law as laid down by Alex Murphy, that's {{RoboCop}}.

The actual Murphy's Law is more nearly "If parts can be assembled a right way and a wrong way, they will be assembled the wrong way." Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly. In fact, the original Murphy's Law was intended not as ironic humor but as a serious admonition to engineers (to make sure they wrote their instructions without ambiguity), and the creator was not happy that it was afterwards taken out of context -- this itself became an example of [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Murphy's Law in action]].

The actual Murphy's Law is more nearly "If parts can be assembled a right way and a wrong way, they will be assembled the wrong way." Study, for instance, the loss of several F-111 (TFX ) aircraft during the Vietnam War due to the backwards insertion of a graphite pin in the rudder assembly.

Murphy's Law is the most commonly used term for the infamously pessimistic maxim, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." [[hottip:*:The actual Murphy's Law is something different, although most people refer to it in this form, which is why we have FinaglesLaw]]. However, on this wiki, it references quite a few things, so we've made this page to help people figure out which one they really want.

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