If anything can go wrong, will it?
Come on. All of you must have guessed what this post is all about. I mean, who hasn't heard of the legendary Murphy's law? Ok. For all you non-murphiles, the Murphy's law states that -
"If any darned thing can go wrong, then it definitely will, dammit."
So does the profound statement written above have a strong base? Are all those millions who swear by it (i shall, for simplicity, and other reasons, refer to them as murphiles throughout this post) justified in doing so? The answer to this question, fortunately or unfortunately, is not blowing in the wind. This question is, i believe, as open to debate as the axiom(?) from which it originates.
Of course, any murphile will have at the tips of his fingers innumerable cases in favour of the law. Well, i'll say he/she better do, for what other reason can be there to believe in it? I mean, can anyone out there prove it to me? Rigorously? Not a chance. I'll admit, though, that i am a fairly faithful murphile myself. I do attempt to console myself when the weather is rough that there is no point in worrying, 'cause nothing and nobody can stand up to murphy. One simply shrugs his shoulders, takes in the situation with a pinch of salt, and gets on in life.
Can you not see the flaw in the reasoning? Is one not making murphy the scapegoat here? Does this approach not strike you as the simplest escape route from difficulty? I mean to say, if one stands up to the obstacles in one's path and fights one's way through the storm, will not one be better off? Instead, all one does is give up and blame it on poor ol' murphy. It's a simple fact, i am sure you will agree, that the deeper you are in a pit, the harder it is for you to climb out. That's fairly obvious. More distance to travel. It's also obvious that it's easier to go down into a pit than climb out of it. Gravity, what? So all murphy did was just rephrase the gist of the two facts written above in a form convenient for all escapists.
And the beauty of the whole binge is that the more one believes in murphy's proclamation, the more true it becomes. I mean, all that is in favour of the statement is good, solid evidence. And where does all the evidence emanate from? Why, from experiences, from people who believe in the law. Do you not find this as fascinating as i do? Who knows, if murphy continues to have such solid support as he does today, such blog posts doubting the law may cease to be written some day in the future.
One can, i feel, however, put the law to good use. What i think murphy tried to convey to the world is that if times are bad, one must be constantly vigilant and work harder than normal, because there is no easy way out. I interpret it only as a warning and an urge to push on, not a factor of comfort or an excuse for failure. Because, stand up and face it, there is no exuse for failure.
So be a murphile if you like. By all means. I have, as i implied earlier, nothing against murphy personally. Just be open to the dangers of misinterpreting this most brilliant and insightful statement.
"If any darned thing can go wrong, then it definitely will, dammit."
So does the profound statement written above have a strong base? Are all those millions who swear by it (i shall, for simplicity, and other reasons, refer to them as murphiles throughout this post) justified in doing so? The answer to this question, fortunately or unfortunately, is not blowing in the wind. This question is, i believe, as open to debate as the axiom(?) from which it originates.
Of course, any murphile will have at the tips of his fingers innumerable cases in favour of the law. Well, i'll say he/she better do, for what other reason can be there to believe in it? I mean, can anyone out there prove it to me? Rigorously? Not a chance. I'll admit, though, that i am a fairly faithful murphile myself. I do attempt to console myself when the weather is rough that there is no point in worrying, 'cause nothing and nobody can stand up to murphy. One simply shrugs his shoulders, takes in the situation with a pinch of salt, and gets on in life.
Can you not see the flaw in the reasoning? Is one not making murphy the scapegoat here? Does this approach not strike you as the simplest escape route from difficulty? I mean to say, if one stands up to the obstacles in one's path and fights one's way through the storm, will not one be better off? Instead, all one does is give up and blame it on poor ol' murphy. It's a simple fact, i am sure you will agree, that the deeper you are in a pit, the harder it is for you to climb out. That's fairly obvious. More distance to travel. It's also obvious that it's easier to go down into a pit than climb out of it. Gravity, what? So all murphy did was just rephrase the gist of the two facts written above in a form convenient for all escapists.
And the beauty of the whole binge is that the more one believes in murphy's proclamation, the more true it becomes. I mean, all that is in favour of the statement is good, solid evidence. And where does all the evidence emanate from? Why, from experiences, from people who believe in the law. Do you not find this as fascinating as i do? Who knows, if murphy continues to have such solid support as he does today, such blog posts doubting the law may cease to be written some day in the future.
One can, i feel, however, put the law to good use. What i think murphy tried to convey to the world is that if times are bad, one must be constantly vigilant and work harder than normal, because there is no easy way out. I interpret it only as a warning and an urge to push on, not a factor of comfort or an excuse for failure. Because, stand up and face it, there is no exuse for failure.
So be a murphile if you like. By all means. I have, as i implied earlier, nothing against murphy personally. Just be open to the dangers of misinterpreting this most brilliant and insightful statement.
posted by Ravi @ 12:19 PM
4 comments
