Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Murphy's Law

God decided to have a competition in heaven to decide which person has come up with a law that is most universally acceptable. The seemingly obvious result was declared and Sir Isaac Newton was the winner. All came forward to congratulate Newton including Albert Einstein and various scientists who contributed in Quantum Mechanics. However one person was sitting alone in the corner and gazing at the applause generated by Newton, apparently nonplussed by all that happened. He was Edward Aloysius Murphy.
Murphy is amazed why his law didn't win despite the publicity

After seeking advice from his best friend Yhprum, who had come up with his own law "Everything, that can work, will work", Murphy decided to appeal. The Appeal’s committee comprised of Sir Don Bradman, Alexander the Great and the famous Tinkle character Supandi. To make it fair and to get a perspective from the today’s world, it was also decided that there will be some representation from the earth. I, as the author of The World of Uncommon Sense, was invited to be a part of the committee.

The meeting of the Appeal’s Committee was convened where Newton and Murphy were also present. Newton argued that Murphy’s Law is a law for the pessimists. Only those who want to find a scapegoat for their mistakes believe in Murphy’s Law. Bradman was first to rebuff, “I support Mr. Murphy in his appeal. After having an average of around 100 in my career, it had to happen that I get out for a duck in my last innings. Now I am stuck with a career average of 99.94, grrr.”

Bradman recalls him getting clean bowled in his last innings

Alexander the Great added, “I am regarded as one of the greatest kings of all time and I guess I am undefeated in battle. By the time of my death, I had conquered most of the world known by ancient Greeks. No man could kill me. But it had to happen that I die of malaria because of a stupid little tiny-miny mosquito!” Everyone looked in disbelief over the startling revelation about the mystery of Alexander’s death. God interrupted the silence by declaring, “I summon the mosquito to a hearing after this to decide whether he should be demoted to hell or not.”
Shocked by Alexander's allegation, the mosquito claims that it is a conspiracy by Murphy

Meanwhile everyone looked at Supandi for some inputs. Surprised by the attention he was receiving, he said, “Mmmm...I don’t know what Murphy’s Law is.” Looking at God’s unimpressed face and eager to prove that God didn’t make a mistake by choosing him in the committee, he tried to rack his 'brain'. He explained, “It is not that I don’t know about Murphy’s Law. It’s just that.....that it has to happen that I forget about Murphy’s Law when someone asks me."

I was asked whether in my world of uncommon sense, I have experienced Murphy’s Law. I replied, “It always happens, when I leave out something for the exam, it has to come. The most awaited football matches are always scheduled during my exams. The amount I study is inversely proportional to the time left before the exam. I remember the answers only once I am out of the examination hall. The net always disconnects or my computer always hangs when I am chatting with someone important. My friends are never online when I am. There will always be some disturbance in an important phone call. I receive automated calls only while I am in roaming. The day I have something important early in the morning, the alarm clocks will never work. I am habitually late for class. But when I am punctual, noone is there to appreciate me. In class I am asked a question by the professor, exactly when I have stopped paying attention. I will never get a shortlist in the company of my choice. In chess my opponent never plays the opening I prepare. Err, the worst of it, is Murphy’s Law with girls. Whenever a conversation with a girl gets interesting, someone joins in the conversation. A girl who is beautiful has to be dumb. I would invariably come across a hot girl with her parents. Hot girls are always there in the senior or junior batches but never in my batch, sob sob.” And I dejectedly sat back on my chair.

Murphy concluded his stance by saying that Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation weren’t applicable in heaven. Whereas here he was expecting to win the competition but it had to happen that he won’t win. He thus squealed in disgust, “My laws are applicable even in heaven!”

Justice was imparted and Murphy’s appeal was upheld. As the news of the appeal disseminated across the heaven, taking pride at the sense of justice, God exclaimed, “No wrong will ever happen in heaven!”

Monday, November 17, 2008

The blogging bug

Finally the blogging bug has caught me as well! Alas I overcome my laziness!

I am a fun-loving and jovial person who can chat endlessly. Friendship means the most to me. With my friends I can go on and on and can be the most talkative person you would find. I love to banter along, play pranks with my friends and can persistently tease them to death!

But my friends also say that I am quiet at times. I like my moments of silence and solitude. I generally don’t like to argue, especially verbally - one reason I never took part in debates during my school and college life, not that I was good at it! I have enjoyed many fruitful discussions with my friends on various topics especially in my hostel life and I really cherish all the bakar we had. But I tend to shy away from serious arguments.

I am not fond of people who are very rigid with their views. It’s not that a consensus has to be reached or someone has to change his or her mind for a discussion to be deemed good, but I don’t like it when someone is stubborn and not open or receptive to other person’s views. Thankfully many people are not like that but my shyness deters me from arguments even with them.

Even though I feel I have been very straightforward with my close friends, I am liable to be diplomatic on many occasions with others. Sometimes even being silent can be diplomatic. At times I have also been manipulative. Even with close friends I have been more of a good listener with honest opinions than someone who would voice out my own thoughts and problems.

I do have my views on various issues and through this blog I hope to put forth them in a more unequivocal manner. Writing is something that comes more naturally to me. As a mode of expression I prefer writing over most others as here one can properly channel one’s thoughts and express in one go. So here I come!

Disclaimer: Even though the title of the blog is inspired from the saying “Common Sense is very uncommon”, I don’t intend to be didactic and take a standpoint that my view is the rational view. The word “uncommon” can be rather connoted as unconventional. I would encourage comments from the readers, especially if it’s negative that could open my eyes to the fallacies in my outlook.