1 / 7

A possible explanation for “Murphy’s Law”

A possible explanation for “Murphy’s Law” . Mr Paul Harris. “Murphy’s Law” . Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, at the worst possible moment and in the worst possible way. . O’Toole’s Comment – Murphy was an optimist!

forest
Download Presentation

A possible explanation for “Murphy’s Law”

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. A possible explanation for “Murphy’s Law” Mr Paul Harris

  2. “Murphy’s Law” • Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, at the worst possible moment and in the worst possible way. • O’Toole’s Comment – Murphy was an optimist! • Harris’ Corollary – solving any problem immediately creates at least two more problems.

  3. Harris’ Law • “The harder you push any system the more unstable it becomes and the more management it requires”

  4. Examples for Illustration • Engines • F1 vs family car • “Thrashed” car vs “old lady” car • Your own body • “Sensible” vs “Workaholic” • Top athlete vs Joe Average • Cycling • Mavericks puncture rate vs Ys puncture rate • Our Back Yard

  5. Our Back Yard “Pushed” by dogs, flooding No dogs or flooding

  6. Types of Systems • Many systems need some “management” to operate stably • too little or too much “pushing” causes problems. e.g. – the human body • Other systems respond linearly • more “management” gives “better” results, up to a point. e.g. – a sports team • Some systems should be left alone • any management decreases results e.g. – wilderness

  7. Conclusions • Harris’ law appears to apply in a wide range of situations and • provides a basis for developing more robust systems • Some systems can be “pushed” by both increasing and decreasing inputs, both of which require more management to return the system to a stable state. • This stable state is not necessarily at “optimum” performance. (it depends on your criteria!)

More Related