What do people mean by "Murphy's Law"?

Answer 1

The correct, original Murphy's Law reads: “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.” This is a principle of defensive design, cited here because it is usually given in mutant forms less descriptive of the challenges of design for lusers. For example, you don't make a two-pin plug symmetrical and then label it “THIS WAY UP”; if it matters which way it is plugged in, then you make the design asymmetrical (see also the anecdote under magic smoke).

Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was one of McDonnell-Douglas's test engineers on the rocket-sled experiments that were done by the U.S. 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, and somebody methodically installed all 16 in a replacement set the wrong way around. Murphy then made the original form of his pronouncement, which the test subject (Major John Paul Stapp) mis-quoted (apparently in the more general form “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong)” at a news conference a few days later.

Within months ‘Murphy's Law’ had spread to various technical cultures connected to aerospace engineering. Before too many years had gone by variants had passed into the popular imagination, changing as they went. Most of these are variants on “Anything that can go wrong, will”; this is more correctly referred to as Finagle's Law. The memetic drift apparent in these mutants clearly demonstrates Murphy's Law acting on itself! -

Answer 2

this will give you some insight, its not the original, never mind murphys rule applys Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. You will always find something in the last place you look. No matter how long or how hard you shop for an item, after you've bought it, it will be on sale somewhere cheaper. The other line always moves faster. In order to get a loan, you must first prove you don't need it. Anything you try to fix will take longer and cost you more than you thought. If you fool around with a thing for very long you will screw it up. If it jams - force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway. When a broken appliance is demonstrated for the repairman, it will work perfectly. Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it. Everyone has a scheme for getting rich that will not work. In any hierarchy, each individual rises to his own level of incompetence, and then remains there. There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over. When in doubt, mumble. When in trouble, delegate. Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral or fattening. Murphy's golden rule: whoever has the gold makes the rules. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw. A Smith & Wesson beats four aces. In case of doubt, make it sound convincing. Never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference.

Answer 3

Actually, there are a series of them—some are:

MURPHY'S LAWS

1. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
2. Everything takes longer than you think.
3. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
4. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. Corollary: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
5. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
6. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
7. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
8. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
9. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
10. Mother nature is a *****.
11. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
12. Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
13. Every solution breeds new problems.

Answer 4

Murphy's law # 1 states: If anything can go wrong, it will...

Answer 5

Murphy's Law is very negative thinking... If anything can go wrong... it will. See the site below for examples. =)

Answer 6

they mean go out and buy murphy lee's CD "Murphy's Law". there is no relation to whatever Capt. Edward A. Murphy said.

Answer 7

"Murphy`s Law " states, " What ever can go wrong,

will go wrong " or being pessimistic


ie. seeing the worst in everything

Answer 8

"murphy's law" is simple .... the law states that anything than can go wrong, will go wrong

Answer 9

Murphy's Law is simply -

"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

Answer 10

It means that if something can happen, it will happen.
They usually say it when something bad occurs when they expected something good to occur.