"Murphy's Law" Lead

[Jeff Prucher]

I've seen this asserted as well.  Wikipedia sez that John W. Campbell used it
in his editorials starting in the 1940's, so that and $3.00 will get you a cup
of coffee.  If anyone has any more information about the origin of Finagle's
Law, I'd be interested in it as well.

Jeff Prucher

--- Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "Murphy's Law" Lead
>
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>
> Wasn't Murphy's Law originally referred to as "Finagle's Law" in ASF?
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 11/13/05, Dave Hause <dwhause at jobe.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dave Hause <dwhause at JOBE.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: "Murphy's Law" Lead
> >
>
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> >
> >     "The etiology of Murphy's Law lies in the human factors research of
> > Colonel John Paul Stapp at Edward's Air Force Base at mid-century.  Murphy
> > was one of his rocket sled technicians.  Murphy was the fountainhead from
> > whose fertile mind the wording of the infamous Law sprang."
> >
> >     The rest of the article segues into a discussion of chaos theory which
> > Stine says he first ran across in 1953.  There are no references.  (He does
> > refer to a book by Lee Correy as if this were a different person.)  My
> > Astounding collection doesn't go as far back 1955.
> > Dave Hause, dwhause at jobe.net
> > Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Fred Shapiro" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> >
> >
> > I wonder whether someone on this list can help me with a "Murphy's Law"
> > lead.  Barry Popik discovered "Reilly's Law," identical to Murphy's Law,
> > mentioned in a story by Lee Correy in Astounding Science-Fiction, Feb.
> > 1955; this is the third oldest documented version of ML I am aware of.  I
> > have just learned that Correy, writing under the name G. Harry Stine,
> > published a 1994 essay entitled "Murphy's Law Revisited" in "The Alternate
> > View" Vol. 114 No. 10 of Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact.
> >
> > Does anyone have ready access to the 1994 Analog Science Fiction / Science
> > Fact and can look there to see whether Correy gives any solid information
> > supporting the Edwards Air Force Base connection with ML?  It appears to
> > me now that Correy was not an unrelated science-fiction vector of ML, but
> > rather was probably familiar with John Paul Stapp and his work at Edwards.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
>
>
> --
> -Wilson Gray
>




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