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Sept. 24, 2007 - 20:16 MDT LITTLE KNOWN Most every month there is something in the Smithsonian magazine that presents itself to my amused amazement or other deeper interests. This month it is at the very back of the mag. Titled "The Last Page," On how to define a person's behavior accurately but not slap in the face insult him - - - unless he is a curious Google fan. The article is by Richard Coniff and titled "In The Name Of The Law." Often humorous and often carrying gems of wisdom the lore of unenacted laws is a blast. I shall quote a few herein. QUOTE "Say for instance, that someone in an argument starts to foam at the mouth. You mildly remark, "What you're saying is a perfect instance of 'Benford's Law of Controversy," Benford's Law states that passion in any argument is inversely proportional to the amount of real information advanced." Mr. Conniff also cites some laws coined by famous people. Quote "Hegel's Paradox, for instance, says, 'Man learns from history that man learns nothing from history.' Clarke's First Law, coined by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, nails the nature of wisdom, "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible he is almost certainly wrong." There are more that give me the total tee hees, "Joy's Law, 'No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.' And "Brook's Law, 'Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." or as Brooks also put it, 'The bearing of a child takes nine months, no matter how many women are assigned.' In the first part of his article Mr. Conniff cites Godwin's law, "It holds that the longer an argument drags on, the likelier someonw will stoop to a Hitler or Nazi analogy." Heather just reminded me a moment ago that it is my bedtime, and I replied, "Sheesh, don't be such a clock Nazi." She replied, "Godwin's Law," and shut the door. So many of the good thoughts of the world are so LITTLE KNOWN . . . . . . . . 4 comments so far
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