The Origin of Murphy's Law
Picture Credits: www.military.comImagine you prepared your science project but it stopped working on the day of the examination.
Or you prepared a sumptuous dinner but the guests canceled at the last moment. Planning everything and yet everything going haywire, sounds familiar right?
Well, If anything can go wrong, it will—that is Murphy's Law.
Have you ever heard of it before?
Background
The adage Murphy’s law carries a wonderful history in its origin. It can be traced back to the early 1900s. In those days, the U.S. Air Force came up with Project MX981. The experiment under Colonel John Paul Stapp was regarding eliminating the life risk of pilots in the aircraft.
How did it start?
Edward Murphy was the development engineer of Project MX981 for the U.S. Air Force. He brought four sensors. They were essential to improve the accuracy of gravity-force measurements in the aircraft.
During the experiment, he realized that the sensors put in by the technicians were positioned wrong. It produced zero readings and irked Murphy. Upon realizing it, Murphy exclaimed, ‘If there’s any way they can do it wrong, they will.’
Ultimately, this statement became the foundation of what is known today as Murphy's law.
Significance of the Law
The idea behind Murphy’s Law is to hope for the best but to always be prepared for the worst. This way of thinking helps us be in control as well as ready for all the possible outcomes that may occur.
While being questioned about how no one was severely injured during the tests of Project MX981 in a Press conference Colonel John Paul Stapp replied, ‘We do all of our work in consideration of Murphy’s Law.’
He highlighted the idea that one has to think through all possibilities before engaging in an experiment. This small observation paved the way for the philosophical thought behind Murphy’s Law.
This experiment to avoid disastrous situations in aircraft accidents led to the observation brought out by Murphy’s law that if we can predict all the wrongdoings in advance, we can find better ways to accomplish our work. Moreover, it leaves us with time to think about the ‘what ifs’ of every situation and stay at the top of our game!
Conclusion
We must remember that at any moment, things can turn out differently than what we expect. So, the next time it takes longer for a cab to arrive when you are already late for the office or your planned vacation does not go as per your wishes. Cheer up! It is Murphy’s Law at work. This too shall pass!
Project MX981 demanded conducting tests to study human deceleration. Human deceleration here signifies the external pressure which acts on a body after it stops completely. It is essential to know the force of gravity acting on a body at sea level. Many engineers and pilots collaborated for it. The noteworthy names among them are Colonel John Paul Stapp and Captain Edward Murphy.