Finagle's law
Encyclopedia
Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives (also known as Finagle's corollary to Murphy's Law
) is usually rendered:
One variant (known as O'Toole's Corollary of Finagle's Law) favored among hackers is a takeoff on the second law of thermodynamics
(also known as entropy
):
The term "Finagle's Law" was first used by John W. Campbell, Jr., the influential editor of Astounding Science Fiction (later Analog). He used it frequently in his editorials for many years in the 1940s to 1960s but it never came into general usage the way Murphy's Law
has.
In the Star Trek
episode "The Ultimate Computer", Dr. McCoy refers to an alcoholic drink known as the "Finagle's Folly," apparently a reference to "Finagle's Law." In Season 2, Episode 1 ("Amok Time", 1967), Captain Kirk tells Spock, "As one of Finagle's Laws puts it: 'Any home port the ship makes will be somebody else's, not mine.'"
Eventually the term "Finagle's law" was popularized by science fiction
author Larry Niven
in several stories
depicting a frontier culture of asteroid miners; this "Belter
" culture professed a religion
and/or running joke
involving the worship of the dread god Finagle and his mad prophet Murphy.
"Finagle's Law" can also be the related belief, "Inanimate objects are out to get us," also known as Resistentialism
.
Similar to Finagle's Law is the verbless phrase of the German novelist Friedrich Theodor Vischer
: "die Tücke des Objekts" (the perfidy of inanimate objects).
A related concept, the "Finagle factor", is an ad hoc
multiplicative or additive term in an equation which can only be justified by the fact that it gives more correct results.
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
) is usually rendered:
- Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment
One variant (known as O'Toole's Corollary of Finagle's Law) favored among hackers is a takeoff on the second law of thermodynamics
Second law of thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the tendency that over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential equilibrate in an isolated physical system. From the state of thermodynamic equilibrium, the law deduced the principle of the increase of entropy and...
(also known as entropy
Entropy
Entropy is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process, such as in energy conversion devices, engines, or machines. Such devices can only be driven by convertible energy, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency when...
):
- The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum.
The term "Finagle's Law" was first used by John W. Campbell, Jr., the influential editor of Astounding Science Fiction (later Analog). He used it frequently in his editorials for many years in the 1940s to 1960s but it never came into general usage the way Murphy's Law
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
has.
In the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
episode "The Ultimate Computer", Dr. McCoy refers to an alcoholic drink known as the "Finagle's Folly," apparently a reference to "Finagle's Law." In Season 2, Episode 1 ("Amok Time", 1967), Captain Kirk tells Spock, "As one of Finagle's Laws puts it: 'Any home port the ship makes will be somebody else's, not mine.'"
Eventually the term "Finagle's law" was popularized by science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
in several stories
Known Space
Known Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
depicting a frontier culture of asteroid miners; this "Belter
Belter (Niven)
In Larry Niven's fictional Known Space universe, a Belter refers to a resident of the Asteroid Belt around Sol, sometimes known as the Sol Belt to differentiate it from Alpha Centauri's Serpent Swarm....
" culture professed a religion
Parody religion
A parody religion or mock religion is a parody of a religion, sect or cult. A parody religion can be a parody of several religions, sects, gurus and cults at the same time. Or, it can be a parody of no particular religion, instead parodying the concept of religious belief...
and/or running joke
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
involving the worship of the dread god Finagle and his mad prophet Murphy.
"Finagle's Law" can also be the related belief, "Inanimate objects are out to get us," also known as Resistentialism
Resistentialism
Resistentialism is a jocular theory to describe "seemingly spiteful behavior manifested by inanimate objects." For example, objects that cause problems exhibit a high degree of malice toward humans and lend support to resistentialist beliefs...
.
Similar to Finagle's Law is the verbless phrase of the German novelist Friedrich Theodor Vischer
Friedrich Theodor Vischer
Friedrich Theodor Vischer was a German writer on the philosophy of art.Born at Ludwigsburg as the son of a clergyman, Vischer was educated at Tübinger Stift, and began life in his father's profession...
: "die Tücke des Objekts" (the perfidy of inanimate objects).
A related concept, the "Finagle factor", is an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
multiplicative or additive term in an equation which can only be justified by the fact that it gives more correct results.
See also
- Hanlon's razorHanlon's razorHanlon's Razor is an eponymous adage that reads:This particular form is attributed to a Robert J. Hanlon. However, earlier utterances that convey basically the same idea are known.-Origins and similar quotations:The quotation first came from Robert J...
- Hofstadter's lawHofstadter's lawHofstadter's law is a self-referencing time-related adage, coined by Douglas Hofstadter and named after himself.Hofstadter's Law was a part of Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. The law is a statement regarding the difficulty of accurately estimating the...
- List of eponymous laws
- Murphy's lawMurphy's lawMurphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
- Sod's lawSod's lawSod's law is a name for the axiom "Anything that can go wrong, will". "Toast will always land butter side down" is often given as an example of Sod's law in action...
- Sturgeon's lawSturgeon's LawSturgeon's revelation, commonly referred to as Sturgeon's law, is an adage derived from quotations by Theodore Sturgeon, an American science fiction author. While Sturgeon coined another adage that he termed "Sturgeon's law", it is his "revelation" that is usually referred to by that term...
- ResistentialismResistentialismResistentialism is a jocular theory to describe "seemingly spiteful behavior manifested by inanimate objects." For example, objects that cause problems exhibit a high degree of malice toward humans and lend support to resistentialist beliefs...