Asbjørn UlsbergFeb 1
Morpheus Being

The 5 Most Famous Laws in The World

1. Dunning-Kruger Law:
Stupid people think they're smart. Smart people doubt themselves. The less you know, the more confident you are.

2. Parkinson's Law:
Work expands to fill the time available, so longer deadlines often lead to slower completion.

3. Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule):
Roughly 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. Focus on the few things that actually matter.

4. Hanlon's Razor:
People aren't trying to hurt you, they're just being careless. That person who didn't text back? They forgot, not ignoring you.

5. Peter's Law:
Good workers become bad managers. Being great at your job doesn't mean you'll be great at the next level.

And I would add

6. Murphy's Law:
Anything that can go wrong, will, when you least expect and can't afford.

Jan 31 at 9:39pmWeb
Show threadSam StephensJan 31

@MorpheusB I believe Dunning-Kruger has been somewhat debunked https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-dunning-kruger-effect-isnt-what-you-think-it-is/

Also, I always knew number 5 as the Peter Principle. And it's more accurately that people are promoted to their point of incompetence.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect Isn't What You Think It Is

The least skilled people know how much they don't know, but everyone thinks they are better than average

Scientific American
Show threadRichardInSandyJan 31
@MorpheusB people always forget Cole’s Law. Finely slice a cabbage….
Show threadTrump & Epstein: Biz partners.Jan 31

@MorpheusB
I created a "law" of my own:

"Schrodinger's USB" - a USB device will ALWAYS be plugged in upside-down (no matter how you flip it) until you pull it out and look into the plug itself to see which way it goes. 👀

Show threadRRBFeb 1
@MugsysRapSheet @MorpheusB I heard that law as "You always have to try 3 times to plug it in."
Show threadalice 🪞♥️ 🎩🐇Jan 31

@MorpheusB
And the Cipolla's 5th law of stupidity:

Law 5: A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
And its corollary:
A stupid person is more dangerous than a bandit.
We can do nothing about the stupid. The difference between societies that collapse under the weight of their stupid citizens and those who transcend them are the makeup of the non-stupid. ...

Show threadArchaeoIainJan 31
@MorpheusB 7. The corollary of Murphy's Law. If you assume that Murphy's Law is true, then things will not go wrong.
Show threadRoger Ap GwillianFeb 1
The O'Reilly addendum to Murphy's Law.
"Murphy was an optimistic bastard."
Show threadDigitalDruidJan 31
@MorpheusB Denis’s Law: inadvertently relegate the team you were a legend for by playing for your inter-city rival.
Show threadJohn TimaeusFeb 1

@MorpheusB

Chesterton's Fence: Just because you don't understand why it's there doesn't mean it isn't essential.

Show threadティージェーグレェFeb 1
Thanks for that. Chesteron's Fence and Peter's Law were unfamiliar to me.

Admittedly, as I look back on my career, I remember being asked why I didn't apply for a CTO position and maybe some internal awareness of Peter's Law was partially what caused me to abstain from pursuing such responsibilities?

Maybe that was an error on my part and I should have pursued a more upward trajectory? I have had so many awful experiences with managers and bosses that I have never wanted to become such a person myself.

CC: @[email protected]
Show threadJohn TimaeusFeb 1

@teajaygrey @MorpheusB

Not being in management isn't a fail. In many ways, it's a win.

I used to do management -- I'll be immodest and admit I was freaking good at it. I built teams that outperformed other companies by several sigmas.

But then it became about being in meetings and fulfilling short-term shareholder needs, while never being allowed a day off.

I've been offered a path back into management at least five times in the last five years. I'll stay at the productive level, building and teaching -- I don't need employees to feel important.

Show threadRRBFeb 1
@MorpheusB Sturgeon's Law "80% of everything is crap"
Show threadsaucerlostFeb 1

@MorpheusB
Don't forget Laws of Focus. They're... um...

Uhhh

Show threadRatatosk™Feb 1

@MorpheusB Goodhart's law, very important for KPIs: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”

“Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes.”

Show threadMarty FoutsFeb 1
@MorpheusB The first one is famous but wrong. There is no effect. They screwed up the statistical analysis. Meanwhile, a little known law that should be more famous is O’Toole’s law: Murphy was an optimist.
Show threadtroy_friz_zellFeb 1

@MorpheusB

Betteridge's law of headlines - a question in a media headline can be answered "no."

Coined by one of the Fediverse's own.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines

Betteridge's law of headlines - Wikipedia

Show threadJustin DerrickFeb 1

@MorpheusB Brandolini’s Law, a.k.a. “The Asymmetry of Bullshit”

The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

Show threadMorpheus BeingFeb 1
@JustinDerrick never knew this one, but you correct!
Show threadthermonuclear small claimsFeb 1
@MorpheusB One that's less famous but very relevant right now is Murc's Law.
Show threadChristopher BurtonFeb 1

@MorpheusB Burton's Law:

Three things will always be funny:
1. Somebody falling down
2. A man in a dress
3. Monkeys!

Show threadKerry McNastyFeb 1
@cb @MorpheusB These are very juvenile, cruel and untrue.
Show threadMark WhybirdFeb 1
@MorpheusB Cole’s law: dressed shredded lettuce.
Show threadWildEnteFeb 1
@MorpheusB I would add Occam's razor: if you have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler one.
Show threadDavid Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)Feb 1

@MorpheusB

  • Peter's Law:Good workers become bad managers. Being great at your job doesn't mean you'll be great at the next level.

    • I haven’t heard this one, it should like the Peter Principle, which states that people rise to a position of respective incompetence. This is easily explained: if you do your job well, you get promoted. You stop being promoted when you stop doing your job well, you stop being promoted. People naturally rise in an organisation until they reach a level where they are not doing their job well.

    Show threadBjørn SætrevikFeb 2
    @MorpheusB Hofstadter law: Every task takes longer than expected, even when you take into account Hofstadter's law.