Throughout history many scientists have proposed numerous scientific laws, theories and principles, such as the theory of relativity, and the law of gravity to name but two.
However, there have also been many occasions when people have proposed more light-hearted theories. This week the Charles Fudgemuffin blog takes a look at some of those more jokey theories, laws, effects, and principles.
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question. It's to post the wrong answer."
If you want to prove this, test it for yourself. Post an incorrect statement, then post a question, and see which gets the most replies.
A variation on Cunningham's Law is that if you want a controversial post to go viral, insert a deliberate spelling mistake. That way, people who agree with the post will interact with it anyway, and those who disagree with the post will reply with comments along the lines of, "Ha! Look at this idiot! He can't even spell properly!" Little will they realise that the spelling mistake was a deliberate ploy to trick them into helping your controversial post reach more eyes.
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| This week's blog post isn't about laws of the land. Neither is it about scientific laws. This week's blog post is about silly laws! Some of which nevertheless have a grain of truth to them. |
1) Cunningham's Law
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question. It's to post the wrong answer."
If you want to prove this, test it for yourself. Post an incorrect statement, then post a question, and see which gets the most replies.
A variation on Cunningham's Law is that if you want a controversial post to go viral, insert a deliberate spelling mistake. That way, people who agree with the post will interact with it anyway, and those who disagree with the post will reply with comments along the lines of, "Ha! Look at this idiot! He can't even spell properly!" Little will they realise that the spelling mistake was a deliberate ploy to trick them into helping your controversial post reach more eyes.
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| Infinite monkeys typing on a typewriter would eventually type out this blog post ... or so the theory goes. |
2) The Infinite Monkey Theory
"A monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will eventually type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare."
If you want proof that this is true, just read the BBC news website!
3) The Dilbert Principle
"The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management."
The Dilbert Principle was invented by Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, and although I have noticed occasions when this is true, I've also thankfully worked for plenty of excellent managers. However, for the examples where this principle applies, 'ineffective' is a more polite word than I would have used. I would have used the word *******!
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| EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!! |
4) The Law of Exclamation
"The more exclamation points used in an email or social media post, the more likely it is a complete lie. This is also true for excessive capital letters."
NO!!! I DISAGREE!!! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!!!!!!!
5) The Streisand Effect
"Attempts to cover something up will inadvertently lead to millions more people becoming aware of the thing they tried to cover up."
This is named after Barbara Streisand who tried to get photos of her coastal mansion removed from the California Coastal Records Project website, only for her efforts to backfire and inadvertantly lead to geater exposure of the photos of her mansion, inspiring the term 'the Streisand Effect'. Other examples of the Streisand Effect include the Chinese regime's (and many Western 'scientists') efforts to cover up the origins of the Wuhan virus, and pretty much every Wikileaks release.
6) Murphy's Law
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| Murphy's Law in action. |
Murphy's Law is the philosophy of the pessimist, and it's not something I personally follow. I try to have the opposite approach to life and assume that positive things will happen, and in fact when positive things don't happen I'm often surprised!
To be fair, when it comes to safety, taking the approach that 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong,' is essential, and can ultimately save lives. For example, for the car industry it makes sense for car manufacturers to employ people whose jobs it is to come up with every possible thing that could go wrong with a car, and then ensure that they don't.
7) Muphry's Law
"If you write anything criticising editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written."
Muphry's Law was named with the purpose of intentionally demonstrating the law in action, as it is a deliberate misspelling of Murphy's Law. A slight variation of this law states that any mistakes in a printed work will only be discovered after it has already been published.
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| Coleslaw, pictured yesterday. |
To round things off, here's a particular favourite law of mine...
8) Cole's Law
"Thinly sliced cabbage in mayonnaise."
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