Aihuxi.116
net.jokes
utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ihnss!ihuxi!cjy
Thu Apr  1 09:37:38 1982
Murphys Law


        Murphy's Law and its Constitutive Relationships
       ------------------------------------------------


MURPHY'S LAW:  If anything can go wrong it will.

PATRICK'S THEOREM:  If the experiment works, you  must  be  using
the wrong equipment.

SKINNER'S CONSTANTS:  Those numbers which when added, subtracted,
multiplied,  or divided, yield the right answer.  ( Also known as
Finnegan's Finageling Factors )

HOMER'S FIVE THUMB POSTULATE:  Experience  varies  directly  with
the equipment ruined.

FLAGEL'S  LAW  OF  THE  PERVERSITY  OF  INANIMATE  OBJECTS:   Any
inanimate object, regardless of composition or configuration, may
be expected to perform at any time in a totally unexpected manner
for reasons that are entirely obscure or completely impossible.

ALLEN'S MAXIM:  When all else fails, read the instructions.

SPARE PARTS PRINCIPLE:  The accessibility of  small  parts  which
fall  from  the  work  bench varies directly with the size of the
part and inversely with its importance to the experiment.

THE COMPENSATION COROLLARY:  The experiment may be  considered  a
success  if  no  more  than  50%  of the observed results must be
discarded to obtain a correlation with the theory.

GUMPERSON'S LAW:  The probability of a given event  happening  is
inversely proportional to its desirability.

THE ORDERING PRINCIPLE:  The supplies necessary  for  yesterday's
experiment must be ordered no later than tomorrow noon.

THE ULTIMATE PRINCIPLE:  By definition, when you are working with
the unknown, you know not what you will find.

FUTILITY FACTOR:  No experiment is ever a  complete  failure;  it
can always serve as a bad example.



                                           Chuck Young at ihuxi!cjy



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