Murphology

Murphy’s Law is about you- about your approach to life. About your resilience and fortitude

Have you all ever come across a situation such as :

“The telephone will ring when you are outside the door, fumbling for your keys. You will reach it just in time to hear the click of the caller hanging up.”

“When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is always on time.”

And this one happens with me all the time

“ Standing in line at the supermarket or at a train station you observe that “the other line always moves faster”, until you change lines and discover that “suddenly the fastest line becomes the slowest”

I am sure, some of you must have related to these situations in your own lives. All the scenarios that I just narrated are the examples of the original, classic Murphy’s law, which says “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”.

Infact there is a term “Murphology” — which has grown in to whole body of knowledge describing the immutable laws of nature, The branch of knowledge relating to things going wrong

Here are some more examples of Murphology at work in everyday life. Many of them, I am sure, will ring true in your own experience

First one — “You never find a lost article until you replace it.”

Whether it’s a missing report, a set of keys, or a sweater, you can expect to find it right after you replace it.

I had to take a Delhi metro to reach a meeting in central delhi, I could not find my metro card. After searching for few minutes, I concluded that I had lost it. Therefore I bought another metro card to continue with my onward journey. As I was waiting on the platform for the next metro, I slid my hand in the pocket of my jacket, and just then the enlightenment came, I was holding the old metro card in my hand.

Second Murphology: “Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch to be sure.”

When a fact is difficult to contest, people accept it at face value. When you present a fact that can be easily verified or refuted, however, people want to be sure.

Another real life example to share with you, While doing some experiments in chemistry lab during my school days, my classmate cautioned that the test-tube is hot, but I have to touch it to ensure that it is actually hot, result -> burnt fingers

Another Murphology is known as Hadley’s Laws of clothing shopping: “1. If you like it, they don’t have it in your size. 2. If you like it and it’s in your size, it doesn’t fit anyway. 3. If you like it and it fits, you can’t afford it. 4. If you like it, it fits and you can afford it, it falls apart the first time you wear it.”

Next murphology, we have the Hurry Up & Wait Principle: “If you’re early it’ll be canceled. If you knock yourself out to be on time, you will have to wait. If you’re late, you will be too late.”

Murphy’s Law is as old as history, a demonstration of the unfortunate fact that human intentions and purposes run awry of the world, and that the world was obviously not created for the sole purpose of fulfilling human intentions and desires. Things fall apart, accidents happen, people forget, purposes clash, illness strikes, change is inevitable along with death and taxes, it rains too much or too little, a drought or a flood, we lose things. All life, wherever it occurs, has an element of unpredictability and surprise to it, and whether we cry or rejoice over what comes our way, we should acknowledge that life truly is the greatest gift.

Sometimes, we have to bottom out, so we know what it takes to make it to the top. Even when the “going is good,” and we have a positive attitude, we do not control all of the outcomes. We can be in our most optimistic state of mind, but sometimes, things are gonna go south. It is our resilience and fortitude that determine how we react and handle these times.

Accept that there will be a Murphy’s Law moment. It’s inevitable. Something will go wrong when you need it to go right. When it does happen, regardless of the situation, look at it in a positive light. Murphy’s Law is about you; about your approach to life, and about turning the so-called ‘lemons’ into a refreshing glass of lemonade.