RE: Murphy's Law: (was Re: off-topic: scheduled backup to external hard drive

["Phil White" pdwhite@xxxxxxxx]

IMO, Murphy was actually referring to a specific rocket sled deceleration
measuring component just didn't work when during the first live rocket sled
test trial. (FYI: the rocket sled itself was built for research on
development of the first jet fighter ejection seats.)

He determined that the component had been mounted correctly on the bolt
holes provided for it, only backwards, completing defeating the purpose of
the device.

Over the years, his statement has (d)evolved into the statement that "if
anything can possibly go wrong, it will."

However, I believe that I can illustrate a much bigger aspect of the
fundamental principle of Murphy's Law.

-- I will gladly do so when I have a bit more time; if any of you are
interested...  ;-)

	Phil White

Philip D. White,
Senior Information Architect
University of Houston, CASA Testing Center

Phone: (713) 743-4135
Fax: (713) 743-8630
Email: pdwhite@xxxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-xywrite@xxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-xywrite@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of George Scithers
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 2:51 AM
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Murphy's Law: (was Re: off-topic: scheduled backup to external
hard drive


Well, I actually corresponded with the real Ed Murphy, United
States Military Academy, class of 1943, formerly a Major, USAF,
when he was a civilian in quality control at Hughes and I was the
editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. (Murphy never
made LtCol and is listed in the Academy' Register of Graduates as
neither "resigned" nor "retired," bit I carefully avoided
discussing that.) A science fiction author of my acquaintance
(the name escapes me at the moment) who also worked at Hughes
later interviewed him for an article on the Law. According to
Murphy Himself, his original remark was (approximately) "If
there's anything the contractor's technical representative can do
wrong, he will," referring mostly to putting things together
wrong. Murphy Himself intended to do an extensive article (or
book) on the Law, mostly on what to do about the tendency of
people to do things wrong unless doing so is too much more
trouble than doing them right.

George H Scithers
USMA Class of 1950, by the way . . .

----- Original Message -----
From: "Norman Bauman" 
To: 
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 11:43 AM
Subject: Re: Murphy's Law: (was Re: off-topic: scheduled backup
to external hard drive


[snip]

> I've spent years trying to track down Murphy's Law, and I will
> refer you to
> the Murphy's Law web site and Wikipedia entry. Murphy's law
> seems to have
> split into 2 tracks: it's developed into first a joke, about
> the peversity
> of nature, and second a design principle, that many people will
> use your
> product many times under many circumstances, and you have to
> design your
> product to work right every time (rather than blaming the user
> for doing it
> wrong). I prefer the second.

[more snip]