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{{trope}}{{page should be category}}
This is '''Finagle's Law''':
{{quote|''The perversity of the universe always tends toward a maximum.''}}
Sometimes called "Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives." A simplified version is this:
{{quote|''Anything that can go wrong,'' '''''will''''' ''go wrong.''}}
Amongst the general populace, this is usually called "[[Murphy's Law]]." However, there is another Murphy's
The name "Finagle's Law" was coined in order to have a correct name for the law. The term was popularized by SF writer [[Larry Niven]]. More on Finagle's Law
The true Finagle's Law is stronger than "anything that can go wrong ''will'' go wrong". It allows for things going well, as the universe is merely lulling you into a false sense of security before proceeding to screw things up for you. It also allows for things that can't go wrong going wrong; some cases of this count as [[Gone Horribly Right]].
Finagle's Law in storyland owes its existence more or less entirely to the [[Rule of Drama]], and is especially common in [[Crapsack World
At some level, this underwrites a huge percentage of TV plots, especially in comedy. The odds of something happening as the plot unfolds depends not on its actual likelihood, but on its potential for disaster.
The term was also played to both seriousness and hilarity in Christopher Stasheff's
Compare with the [[
See also [[
Expressions of Finagle's Law include:
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* [[Magnum Opus Dissonance]]
* [[Misaimed Fandom]]
* [[
* [[Mistimed Revival]]
* [[Murphy's Bed]]
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* [[Not Quite the Right Thing]]
* [[Nothing Can Stop Us Now]]
* [[Out
* [[Phlebotinum Breakdown]]
* [[Pointy
* [[Priceless Ming Vase]]
** [[Ashes to Crashes]]
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* [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]
* [[Useless Superpowers]]
* [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?]]
* [[Yank the
* [[You Can't Thwart Stage One]]
* [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]]
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[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]
[[Category:Meta Concepts]]
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