Talk:List of adages named after people

Untitled[edit]

I am moving this to List of adages named after people. It is a list after all. Gkhan 10:03, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

Exceeding obscurity[edit]

Perhaps there are better places to search than Google, but the only place I seem to find "Shukla's law" is on copies of this Wikipedia article. Any references to a "Hemant Shukla" as a coiner of the law is equally nonexistent. I suspect a few other adages in the list are similarly spotty/arbitrary, such as "Hockin's law". I accept that there are obscure but valid laws (in an "actually used by people" sense), but I would also say that some sort of reference is called for to avoid spurious entries. Eric's penguin 05:39, 27 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Similarly, I can't find any references to Berlin's Laws... And this "noted" Dean Berlin doesn't even have his own Wiki article. I'm going to delete them. -- ToastyKen 00:41, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cleaning up[edit]

I am removing the following entries from this list (below each entry is the reason for removing):

Ashby's Law - The variety of a regulator must be at least as large as that of the system it regulates. Formulated by W. Ross Ashby in An Introduction to Cybernetics.
- This is not an adage.

Bernd's Corollary on Murphy's Law - The object of any search invariably appears in the spot you look at last.
Bernd's Observation - The universe itself ensures this because you stop searching - right here, right now.
- I found no references; only hit in Google is this article.

Brewster's Law - There's an exception to every rule, except for the one about there being an exception to every rule. Coined by science fiction writer Kent Brewster, in response to many questions about manuscript formatting.
- I found no reference. Brewster's Law is a redirect to Brewster's angle, a physics concept with nothing to do with this.

Colvard's Logical Premise - All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen or it won't.
- Only 50 hits in Google, also searched for "Colvard's law" to no avail.

Edward's Law - You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem.
- No reference.

Gilmore's Law - The chances of making a fool out of yourself while trying to degrade someone else approaches 1 (certainty) with every disparaging remark. Coined by programmer Ben Gilmore.
- No reference, hits in Google seem to refer to something else, related to internet censorhip.

Harshaw's Law - Daughters can use up to ten percent more [money] than a man can make in any normal occupation, regardless of the amount. Stated by Jubal Harshaw in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (1961).
- Only 44 Google hits, doesn't seem like it is widely used.

Hofstadter's Law - It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. A recursive law from Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach.
- Ditto, 916 hits.

Holmes' Law - After eliminating the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth. From Sherlock Holmes.
- Ditto, also 916 hits.

Hutber's Law - Improvement means deterioration.
- Ditto, 140 hits.

McLaughlin's Law - In a meeting, the amount of time spent on any topic is inversely proportional to its importance.
- Ditto, 113 hits.

Okrent's Law - The pursuit of balance can create imbalance because sometimes something is true.
- Ditto, 516 hits.

Ralph's Observation - It is a mistake to allow any mechanical object to realize that you are in a hurry.
- Ditto, 1090 hits.

Wu's Mantra - You have to get over this sometime. Why not now? From Ringworld.
- Ditto, 12 hits, some unrelated.

JoaoRicardo^talk 02:15, 29 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Shouldn't this be a category, rather than a list?

Cole's Law[edit]

We should add Cole's Law to the article.

Think of the article as the meal, with Cole's Law on the side.

72.82.171.49 23:51, 21 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cole's Law - Thinly slided cabbage. A must add, could be linked to the Cole Slaw article PabloSus86 01:18, 19 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

On Merging[edit]

I think these lists should be separate. One list ("Observations") should be a list of general system observations (part of systems theory), and the other a list of observations of people. I'd also separate out the less formal from the more formal on each page. Some retitling might be in order.

This page was AFAIK started as a cut & paste from List of eponymous laws, and I'd vote that it become a simple redirect to that page. Lord knows why it was started. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Law[edit]

I noticed how so many are refered to as "x's law". In science these days, rarely is anything refered to as a law. Even old laws, Newtons laws etc., have been proven wrong. Its strange how such things, which do not even come close to scientific standards, are refered to as laws (versus, say, Einstein's "theory" of relativity). - Matthew238 07:48, 14 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

...and yet the very scientific "Sod's Law" cannot be listed.Wluki 13:06, 2 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Matthew, I humbly suggest that you take a closer look at what constitutes a Law. Newton's laws are still valid depending on your reference frame and the precision that you need from calculations. A theory is perhaps best thought of as a framework built on a body of underlying laws. Ante lan ^talk 19:18, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yecch[edit]

Spotted another 'law' that only seems to exist in this list of adages: "Bithell's Law". And, um, ew.

Randomfloop 22:47, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

More cleaning[edit]

I just removed Cole's Law (joke) and Robbie's Law (Whatever is on the left when one goes somewhere should be on the right when one returns. Coined by an Edinburgh tour guide) which I can't find any google confirmation for. --Spondoolicks 13:48, 15 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I just removed DB_Story's First Law, listed as coined on June 1, 2007. Clearly just an advert. Ww.ellis 14:59, 5 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why not categorize?[edit]

There seems to me to be no meaningful information in this article that would be harmed if everything were moved into a category. The information here seems largely redundant. Why not categorize every article under this heading and get rid of the list? --Ybbor ^Talk 01:04, 7 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and series boxes. The list is annotated and summarized, which isn't possible if one just uses a category. --Quiddity 18:19, 16 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Blake's Law[edit]

With only 632 Google results, I don't believe Blake's Law is really significant enough to merit inclusion. I'm removing it, at least for now. What does everybody else think? Javguerre 15:07, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

One reliable source beats any number of g-hits. The article Blake's Law redirects to doesn't give any (just blog/forum sources), so yeah, fine to delete for now. --Quiddity 17:07, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Poe's Law[edit]

I've seen a number of references to Poe's Law, "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that SOMEONE won't mistake for the real thing.", especially with reference to Net Authority. So far, I haven't yet seen to whom it is attributed - I doubt it is the obvious. Has anyone else heard this? samwaltz 19:55, 11 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]