Guardians of Murphy’s Laws
I am a believer in Murphy's Law. Murphy's Law has many names: the law of universal mischief, the law of the worst outcomes, and so on. There are also Murphy's Laws adapted to narrow areas of life and activities. But essentially, there is one universal Murphy's Law: Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Everything that cannot go wrong, will still go wrong. I believe in Murphy's Law because I have experienced it many times. Or perhaps, have I experienced it because I believe in it? Such a question arose while driving to a concert in San Francisco. I was in a hurry, so according to Murphy's Law, traffic jams began on the roads. Afraid of being late, I weaved between lanes. However, according to Murphy's Law, the lane I entered became the slowest. I thought - Murphy punishes me the most because I am a believer (in Murphy's Law). But am I the only believer among the traffic participants? Hard to believe, but according to Murphy's Law, it's very possible. Let's say there are many believers among the traffic participants. Everyone evenly distributed across four traffic lanes. What should the guardians of Murphy's Law do? Which lanes to slow down the most? The question is theoretical, but the guardians have probably encountered such situations. There is likely a rule, or even an algorithm, on how to act in such cases - punish some drivers more, and some less. An equal distribution of believers is an idealization - some disbalance always exists. So, the guardians slow down the lanes with the most believers. When believers change lanes – the guardians adjust the speeds of the lanes. I must choose a lane with the least number of believers, but it's not easy to determine which.
Thinking this way, I reached the concert hall fifteen minutes before the concert. The guardians of Murphy's Law are biting their nails.