Murphy's Law and Others

Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment.

Corollaries to Murphy's Law:

• The other line always moves faster.
• When in doubt, use a bigger hammer.
• If you play with anything long enough, you'll break it.
• Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
• The greater the hurry, the slower the traffic.

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Peter Principle: In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his or her own level of incompetence.

Corollaries to the Peter Principle:

• All useful work is done by those who have not yet reached their levels of incompetence.
• Cream rises until it sours.

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Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill time available for its completion

Corollaries to Parkinson's Law

• An administrator wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals.
• Administrators make work for each other.
  

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from various sources