Untitled
The House Of Murphy
Murphy's home
[A][B][C][D][E][F][G][H][I][J][K][L][M][N][O][P][Q][R][S][T][U][V][W][Y][Z]
E
Economists' Laws:
  1. What men learn from history is that men do not learn from history.
  2. If on an actuarial basis there is a 50-50 chance that something will go wrong, it will actually go wrong nine times out of ten.

Edington's Theory:
The number of different hypotheses erected to explain a given biological phenomenon is inversely proportional to the available knowledge.

Law of Editorial Correction:
Anyone nit-picking enough to write a letter of correction to an editor doubtless deserves the error that provoked it.

Ehrlich's Rule:
The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts.

Ehrman's Commentary:
Things will get worse before they will get better. Who said things would get better?

Eliot's Observation:
Nothing is so good as it seems beforehand.

Ellenberg's Theory:
One good turn gets most of the blanket.

Emerson's Insight:
That which we call sin in others is experiment for us.

Old Engineer's Law:
The larger the project or job, the less time there is to do it.

The "Enough Already" Law:
The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets.

Extended Epstein-Heisenberg Principle:
In an R & D orbit, only 2 of the existing 3 parameters can be defined simultaneously. The parameters are: task, time, and resources ($).
  1. If one knows what the task is, and there is a time limit allowed for the completion of the task, then one cannot guess how much it will cost.
  2. If the time and resources ($) are clearly defined, then it is impossible to know what part of the R & D task will be performed.
  3. If you are given a clearly defined R & D goal and a definte amount of money which has been calculated to be necessary for the completion of the task, one cannot predict if and when the goal will be reached.
  4. If one is lucky enough to be able to accurately define all three parameters, then what one is dealing with is not in the realm of R & D.

Epstein's Law:
If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it.

Ettorre's Observation:
The other line moves faster.
Corollary: Don't try to change lines. The other line -the one you were in originally- will then move faster.

Evans's Law:
Nothing worth a damn is ever done as a matter of principle. (If it is worth doing, it is done because it is worth doing. If it is not, it's done as a matter of principle).

Evans's Law of Politics:
When team members are finally in a position to help the team, it turns out they have quit the team.

Evelyn's Rules for Bureaucratic Survival:
  1. A bureaucrat's castle is his deskŠ and parking place. Proceed cautiously when changing either.
  2. On the theory that one should never take anything for granted, follow up on everything, but especially those items varying from the norm. The greater the divergence from normal routine and/or the greater the number of offices potentially involved, the better the chance a never-to-be-discovered person will file the problem away in a drawer specifically designed for items requiring a decision.
  3. Never say without qualification that your activity has sufficient space, money, staff, etc.
  4. Always distrust offices not under your jurisdiction which say that they are there to serve you. "Support" offices in a bureaucracy tend to grow in size and make demands on you out of proportion to their service, and in the end require more effort on your part than their service is worth.
    Corollary: Support organizations can always prove success by showing service to someoneŠ not necessarily you.
  5. Incompetents often hire able assistants.

Everitt's Form of the Second Law of Thermodynamics:
Confusion (entropy) is always increasing in society. Only if someone or something works extremely hard can this confusion be reduced to order in a limited region. Nevertheless, this effort will stil result in an increase in the total confusion of society at large.

Eve's Discovery:
At a bargain sale, the only suit or dress that you like best and that fits is the one not on sale.
Adam's Corollary: It's easy to tell when you've got a bargain -it doesn't fit.

Nonreciprocal Laws of Expectations:
  1. Negative expectations yield negative results.
  2. Positive expectations yield negative results.

First Law of Expert Advice:
Don't ask the barber whether you need a haircut.
Murphy's home
[A][B][C][D][E][F][G][H][I][J][K][L][M][N][O][P][Q][R][S][T][U][V][W][Y][Z]