In every field of human activity there are its own canons, rules, and principles — sometimes unwritten, but always drawn from bitter practical experience and confirmed again and again over many decades. Here are some of such “laws” and “axioms,” borrowed from foreign publications.
MURPHY’S LAW.
Anything that can break will inevitably break.
PATRICK’S THEOREM.
If an experiment succeeds immediately, it means the equipment is faulty.
HORNER’S POSTULATE.
The experience acquired by an experimenter is directly proportional to the number of instruments he has damaged.
ALLEN’S AXIOM.
When all your original ways to conduct the experiment prove fruitless, read the instructions.
THE SPARE PARTS PRINCIPLE.
If any part falls from the workspace, the probability of finding it is inversely proportional to its importance for completing the experiment.
THE LAW OF COMPENSATION.
An experiment may be considered successful if, after discarding half of all the obtained data, you manage to get an almost complete match with the theory.
THE PRINCIPLE OF SEQUENCE.
Everything necessary for yesterday’s experiment should be ordered no later than tomorrow.
M. FILONOV
Bryansk