From birth, a person is surrounded on all sides by various laws. The laws of physics, chemistry, geometry, logic and the laws of philosophy literally pile on him. Even a sandwich falling on the floor is a law, but what about more global things?
For example, absolutely the entire population of the planet from childhood is familiar with the so-called law of meanness, according to which events develop exactly in the version that is least desirable in a given situation. It is to this kind of worldly truths that Murphy's Laws apply.
What are these laws and where did they come from
The beginning of Murphy's philosophical laws was laid back in 1949. Contrary to history, logic and statistics, the basis of this doctrine was laid not by a philosopher, but by a specialist in the field of aviation engineering, Edward Murphy.
The above-named captain specialized in the study of emergency situations. Distinguished by his straightforwardness and, as it turned out, a sober assessment of the situation, he once stated that “if at all you can do something wrong,tech will definitely do just that.” The phrase turned out to be so apt that it immediately went under the record and received the proud name "Murphy's Law".
At first, the expression was just a good saying. Perhaps she would have remained if not for one press conference. The thing is that a certain Dr. John Paul Stapp decided to reveal to journalists the reason for the amazingly low accident rates, which was based on an unshakable faith in Murphy's law, or rather an irresistible desire to circumvent it. Needless to say, that with a light suggestion of journalists, everyone learned about this law? It was then that the first ever Murphy's Law was born.
Of course, Edward Murphy was not the discoverer, because the law of meanness existed long before that. Nevertheless, it was his word, spoken at the right place and at the right time, that laid the foundation for a whole philosophical doctrine.
Edward Murphy and his law
A lot of researchers and people who appreciate Murphy's philosophical principles are still arguing about authorship. Of course, this issue will never be fully resolved, but it can be said with certainty that the alleged author himself died, strictly following his own law.
The life of Captain Edward Murphy ended rather banally and unexpectedly: on a dark evening on one of the US roads, he was hit by a Briton driving in the opposite lane. The car of the discoverer of the law of meanness stalled, and he went into the oncoming lane in order to catch a ride and get to the nearest gas station, where the old woman-death overtook him. The Briton, of course, believed that he was moving correctly - the habit of driving on the left played a key role in this case. In short, Murphy was the victim of just such an undesirable but unlikely set of circumstances.
The Fate of Murphy's Laws
Of course, such a bright, and most importantly, accurate statement could not go unnoticed. It was subjected to numerous discussions, received an incredible amount of evidence, and entered modern times thanks to the book Murphy's Law by Arthur Bloch, in which not only the law itself, but also its consequences were set out with a fair amount of humor.
The consequences, by the way, were no less accurate. Perhaps it is thanks to them that Murphy's Laws have received so many fans.
The basis of philosophical doctrine
Just an incredible number of critics have already said that it is completely unacceptable to adhere to this kind of law. Philosophical teachings of this kind seem too pessimistic to serious men. However, this does not affect their vitality and legitimacy.
In fact, everything in life happens exactly as described: if trouble can happen, it certainly happens, and entails the worst possible scenario.
The sense of humor of our lives
Murphy's law of meanness is, in fact, completely universal. Remember, for example, the famous song: "According to statistics, there are 9 guys for 10 girls." And the examples are all over the place, if you think about it. Absolutely every person on earth sooner or later finds himself in a situation wherethe thing that is needed at this very moment (or better still yesterday) is lost. Of course, miraculously, it is not until the need for it is gone, and later, after you have searched all conceivable and unthinkable places, it will be right in front of your nose.
This, by the way, is also according to Murphy's law.
"When you wash your car, it starts to rain" - says Murphy's Laws. Not a single motorist will dare to challenge this statement, since the percentage of developments in this vein is too high.
What about "he who snores goes to sleep first"? Is this not true? Of course, we must not forget about the truly brilliant statement about the benefits of reading explanatory literature: "If nothing else helps, finally read the instructions." How many devices were mastered by the so-called "scientific poke" method? And how much was spoiled?
Murphy's laws - funny and at the same time absolutely accurate - can explain any phenomenon of our life. All failures, incidents and awkward situations happen according to them.
Every day by Murphy's law
One of these postulates says that man is a being much smarter than he needs to be happy. How many times every inhabitant of the globe could not fall asleep because some awkward situation from the past came to mind, which you should definitely think about? Millions of millions of times. And this number is still going to infinity.
A common expression that if you fall asleep for the third day in a row, then this day - Wednesday - is also onefrom famous laws. Come to think of it, he's not much of an argument.
Each representative of the fair sex will be able, without any twinge of conscience, to confirm one of the fundamental laws: acne on the face appears about an hour before the appointment. Moreover, the more desirable it is, the greater the catastrophe is revealed in this time period.
The famous staircase syndrome, by the way, also works in full accordance with Murphy's law: the best arguments are exactly those that come to mind when it's over.
Murphy's Laws for every day, whatever one may say, are rather sad in themselves. To give an example: "There is no bad situation that could not get worse." As you know, there is no limit to perfection. And it's a proven fact.
The laws of meanness in action
If you think about it, Murphy and his followers in the formation of their theory came into contact with phenomena dangerous and terrible in some way. How many troubles have happened in the history of mankind in support of these postulates.
Murphy's philosophical principles, or rather the situations from which they are derived, sometimes drove people crazy in the most literal sense of the word. Few people have not heard the story of Oleg Evgenyevich Mitasov, who could have built a brilliant doctoral career if his majesty had not intervened in his life.
A great scientist who had been poring over his own doctoral dissertation for a long time, one fine day went to defend it. And everything would be great if this veryThe potential doctor of science did not forget his dissertation according to the law of meanness in a tram.
This incident made such a strong impression on Mitasov that he literally went crazy. All the walls of his apartment were covered with strange inscriptions, the most frequent of which was "VAK", where he went for protection.
This is how cruel the famous law of meanness is, if you take your failures too close to your heart.
Another great example is the life of Vincent van Gogh. Poverty, stagnation and social hostility - that's what one of the greatest artists in history had to endure all his life. Glory came to him only after death, after many years. The master of painting was born and lived not in his time, in a world alien to him.
Murphy's Laws and other thinkers
Philosophical humor, it should be noted, is far from alien to Murphy's laws, and if you make an inspection of world literature, cinema, history and science, you can find quite a lot of followers of merphology.
For example, Chekhov's famous statement about the gun, which must be fired in the last act, does not at all contradict the basic principles of the famous laws of meanness, but, on the contrary, confirms them.
Dovlatov, for example, wrote that "the share of absurdity is absolutely necessary in responsible events", which means that the writer was perfectly aware of the need for laws of meanness.
Similar laws of philosophy permeate all literature and art. And if we dig much deeper and turn to science, then the great Albert himselfEinstein expressed himself in full accordance with Murphy's laws: “Do you think everything is so simple? Yes, it's simple. But not at all.”
Is this not the truth?
The Future of Murphy's Laws
The same Einstein said that the universe and human stupidity have no limits, and he was not sure about the latter. That is why we can say that the law of the falling sandwich will be proved again and again, there will be more and more awkward situations, and the law of meanness will drive more than a dozen people crazy. Of course, the limitedness and some stupidity of a person is far from the only criterion for the development of the world according to Murphy's laws. There are others, more reasonable, more scientifically grounded, dry and full of facts and figures. Nevertheless, they cannot be compared with the law of meanness in colors and accuracy.
What should a person living by Murphy's laws do?
First of all, don't lose heart. Everything that happens happens for the best. As awkward as situations are, they always serve as an experience. Whatever the situation, it can get even worse, so the person gets an incentive to fight for the best. All great discoveries are made by mistake. Murphy's laws, funny and sad at the same time, are proof of this.
