Finagle's Law: Difference between revisions

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This is Finagle's Law:

This is '''Finagle's Law''':

{{quote|''The perversity of the universe always tends toward a maximum.''}}

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{{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 ~~Law -- though~~ still related to this one -- "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it." In layman's terms, that means that if someone plugs in a toaster [[Reverse Polarity|backwards]] and it fries itself, the problem isn't just that some idiot plugged it in backward, but that it was able to be plugged in backwards in the first place. ''Someone's'' going to try and mess it up [[Hanlon's Razor|(or mess it up without trying)]].

Amongst the general populace, this is usually called "[[Murphy's Law]]." However, there is another Murphy's Law—though still related to this one -- "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it." In layman's terms, that means that if someone plugs in a toaster [[Reverse Polarity|backwards]] and it fries itself, the problem isn't just that some idiot plugged it in backward, but that it was able to be plugged in backwards in the first place. ''Someone's'' going to try and mess it up [[Hanlon's Razor|(or mess it up without trying)]].

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 can be found in the [http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/F/Finagles-Law.html Hacker's Jargon File].

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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~~|Crapsack Worlds~~]] where things that do go wrong tend to go wrong in the worst possible way. Can also happen to Real Life in a limited pace, as entropy indicates. One is generally left with the impression that the universe is controlled by [[God Is Evil|a malevolent (or at least mischievous) deity]] ~~-- some~~ might say ~~author -- who~~ is obsessed with making your life as difficult and humiliating as possible.

Finagle's Law in storyland owes its existence more or less entirely to the [[Rule of Drama]], and is especially common in [[Crapsack World]]s where things that do go wrong tend to go wrong in the worst possible way. Can also happen to Real Life in a limited pace, as entropy indicates. One is generally left with the impression that the universe is controlled by [[God Is Evil|a malevolent (or at least mischievous) deity]]—some might say author—who is obsessed with making your life as difficult and humiliating as possible.

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.

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[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]

[[Category:Meta Concepts]]

[[Category:~~index~~]]

[[Category:Index]]

[[Category:Finagle's Law]]

[[Category:Depressing Tropes]]