Life, according to Murphy’s Law

When I first heard of Murphy’s Law, I assumed it had to do with Eddie Murphy. But that wasn’t the case. It is attributed to Edward Aloysius Murphy, an American aerospace engineer who worked largely in the safety-critical system (the system’s meaning is a tad convoluted and not really relevant here, but do look it up in case you are interested: it is bound to increase your GK quotient) in the 1950s and 60s. He had once said (famously, in hindsight, so much so it was upgraded to the category of an “adage” and “epigram”), “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”.

Doris Day had sung Que Sera Sera in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) that I had watched on television as a kid (we even sang Que Sera Sera in school on Annual Day), which roughly meant the same thing, but couched in an upbeat cadence, giving it a positive spin. “Whatever will be, will be.” I had heard — and sung — Que Sera Sera way before I was introduced to Murphy’s Law, and had made my peace with cheerful fatalism.

Later, when I was in high school, once I missed my school bus because it always came late and on the one day when I arrived at the bus station exactly 60 seconds late, it came on time. I reached in time to see it whiz past. And I turned to my uncle (who had come to deposit me at the designated pickup spot) and asked, “Why is it that on the one day I am late, the bus comes early?”

“It’s called Murphy’s Law,” he responded.

Basically, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” had been extended to mean “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time”.

I have my own personal interpretation of Murphy’s Law, one that I have stretched from the original considerably, and I’m happy to note most people whose lives appear to be governed by Murphy’s Law are likewise likeminded.

sushmita@khaleejtimes.com