Murphy's Law - My Thoughts Exactly!

If there are two or more ways of doing things and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it. Edward A. Murphy, Jr.

Almost three decades ago, a 2′ X 3′ poster hung on my cubicle wall in Indianapolis. It displayed a list of sayings attributed to Murphy. That is, Murphy’s Law. I enjoyed looking at that poster and considering which of his witticisms best fit the calamity unfolding at the time. All of us have heard at least one of them. A favorite of mine is, “If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.” Many of Murphy’s sayings are familiar to the general population, yet I’d wager most who quote them know nothing of the real Murphy. It’s time to fix that.

The Genesis of Murphy's Cheeky Adages

Contrary to what I would have guessed, Murphy wasn’t a ne’er-do-well malcontent. Rather, Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was a well-educated World War II veteran who was tapped in 1949 to lead a research team at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.* That team ran experiments to gauge the impact of gravitational acceleration (G-force) on fighter pilots. For one of the experiments, which was designed to monitor stress on different parts of the body, an assistant wired transducers to the pilot’s shoulder straps.

Once all the monitors were in place, the subject entered a rocket sled and catapulted for 1.9 miles on a railroad track, then came to an abrupt–and probably jarring–stop after reaching a speed of 200 mph. The sensors registered zero (0) stress, which could not have been accurate. Upon examination of the sensors, Murphy (presumably) discovered that ALL of them had been wired backwards due to a manufacturing error. This means the “electronic signals all ran backwards.” Murphy is quoted as saying, “If there’s any way these guys can do it wrong, they will.” And so it began.

*Military.com article, which quoted the book, “Sonic Wind: The Story of John Paul Stapp and How a Renegade Doctor Became the Fastest Man on Earth.

A Few More Laws

Never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference.
The chance of a slice of bread falling butter side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
If no one uses it, there’s a reason.

Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate
Anything you try to fix will take longer and cost more than you thought.
A shortcut is the longest distance between two points.

How Did These "Laws" Become Popular?

Obviously, Murphy didn’t make laws, but he did share observations with his co-workers. One of those colleagues was John Paul Stapp, the overall commander of the G-Force project. When Stapp held a press conference to share results, he mentioned Murphy’s response to product issue (Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.) In 1955, Aviation Mechanics used a variation of this quote in a bulletin. Then, in 1962, the saying “took off” when Mercury astronauts referred to it again. This, according to Irish Central. I admit I’m curious as to Ireland’s involvement in this piece, but here we are.

Skeptical of the Odds, Much?

Who knows how much of what has been attributed to Murphy actually came out of Murphy’s mouth? Nobody knows. But quoting Murphy is often more acceptable than words that race to the tips of our tongues when things go “south”. Was Murphy a skeptic? Maybe. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. He had a long, successful career and was heavily involved in anticipating and resolving life safety issues in the aircraft industry.

Murphy presented us with two gifts. One is to use his quotes as a way to vent and laugh as we attempt to absorb the disappointment that often accompanies failure. Que the backup, the brake lights, and your late arrival, all courtesy of unanticipated gawkers’ block. Secondly, and far more importantly, his insightful commentaries serve as reminders that even high-dollar, high-visibility projects can go wonky. They were–and remain–valuable to encourage better team interactions, but also to promote proactive planning. They remind us to anticipate problems and to always have a Plan B in our back pocket. Because ultimately, Murphy’s Law was never about expecting failure. Rather, it was about acknowledging failure’s possibility and making appropriate preparations.