FINAGLE'S LAW (Why nothing in Research and Development happens the way it should) Ever since the first scientific experiment, men have been plagued by the un- ceasing antagonism of Nature. Only his patience, adaptability and forbearance have permitted the scientist to learn a few minor facts about the operation of the universe. We still do not really know why this should be so. It's only natural that Nature should be logical and neat - but it isn't, and the best teacher of all, Experience, turns out to be just the gradual acceptance of Nature's pigheadedness. Over the years a series of laws have evolved. The laws actually represent a distillation of experience of thousands of experimenters, but (until Dr. Finagle came along) they were never recorded for the study and edification of younger members of our profession because they had no derivation - no proof. They are true because they have always been true. Look into your own experience and see if this is not so. We are grateful to John W. Campbell, editor of Astounding Science Fiction, for bringing this work to our attention, and to the many readers of that magazine who collected and contributed samples so that others might share in their experience. FINAGLE'S CREED: Science is Truth - don't be misled by facts. FINAGLE'S MOTTO: Smile - tomorrow it will be worse. ON EXPERIMENTS (The first four laws are the only ones dignified by number. Note the beauty and simplicity of the First Law. Also, note that the three remaining laws refer to men's reactions to Nature - not to Nature itself). FIRST LAW: If anything can go wrong with an experiment, it will. SECOND LAW: No matter what result is anticipated, there is always someone willing to fake it. THIRD LAW: No matter what the result, there is always someone eager to misinterpret it. FOURTH LAW: No matter what occurs, there is always someone who believed it happened according to his pet theory. THE LAW OF THE TOO-SOLID GOOF: In any collection of data, the figure that is most-obviously correct - beyond all need of checking - is the mistake. COROLLARY I: No one whom you ask for help will see it either. COROLLARY II: Everyone who stops by with unsought advice will see it immediately. HUMAN FOIBLES The remaining rules outline the human problems that follow from the above. To some extent, they represent man's reaction to Nature and, even more aptly, man's reaction to man. LAWS OF REVISION (Often lumped into the Now They Tell Us! Law) FIRST LAW: Information necessitating a change in design will be conveyed to the designer after - and only after - the plans are complete. COROLLARY I: In simple cases, where one obvious right way is opposed to one obvious wrong way, it is often wiser to choose the wrong way right off. This is one step ahead of choosing the right way, which turns out to be a wrong way, which has to become a right way. SECOND LAW: The more innocuous the revision appears to be at first, the further its influence will extend and more plans will have to be redrawn. THIRD LAW: If, when the completion of a design is imminent, field dimensions are finally supplied as they actually are - instead of as they were meant to be - it is always simpler to start all over. FOURTH LAW: Even if it is impossible to assemble a part incorrectly, still a way will be found to do it wrong. COROLLARY I: It is usually impractical to worry beforehand about interferences - if you have none, someone will make one for you. THE LAW OF THE LOST ICH: In designing any type of construction, no over-all dimension can be totalled correctly after 4 P.M. Friday. COROLLARY I: Under the same conditions, if any minor dimensions are given to 1/16 of an inch, they cannot be totalled at all. COROLLARY II: The correct total will be self-evident at 9:01 Monday morning. A further series of rules - or really advice to experimenters - has been formulated. they are a natural consequence of the first four laws reduced to day-to-day practice. 1. Experiments must be reproducible - they should all fail in the same way. 2. First draw your curves - then plot the readings. 3. Experience is directly proportional to equipment ruined. 4. A record of data is useful - it indicates you've been working. 5. To study a subject best, understand it thoroughly before you start. 6. In case of doubt, make it sound convincing. 7. Do not believe in miracles - rely on them. 8. Always leave room to add an explanation when it doesn't work. (This open door policy is also known as the Rule of the Way Out.) 9. Deliveries that normally take one day will take five when you are waiting. 10. When adjusting (or drawing or computing, etc.) remember that the eye of the chief inspector (engineer, draftsman, etc.) is more accurate than the finest instrument. 11. After adding two weeks to a schedule for unexpected delays, add another two weeks for the unexpected unexpected delays. 12. In any problem, if you find yourself doing an unending amount of work, the answer may be obtained by inspection. THE FINAGLE FACTOR A mathematical notation of Finagle's work has been developed. Here, however, there seems to be some confusion, because two other names enter the picture: "fudge" and "diddle" factors are also used to considerable advantage y scientists and engineers. Years ago - when the universe was relatively easy to understand - the Finagle factor consisted of a simple additive constant (sometimes known as a variable constant) in the form: X' = Kf + X. where any measured variable, X, could be made to agree with theory, X', by simple addition of the Finagle factor, Kf. Later difficulties couldn't be solved so easily and so a fudge factor, Kb, was added. X' = Kf + KbX. Powerful as this adjustment was, World War II studies in servo theory indicated a need for a still-stronger influence. The diddle factor, Kd, was born and made to multiply the quadratic term. X' = Kf + KbX + dX*X. It is felt that, at least at present, reality can be made to conform to mathematical theory with reasonable agreement on the basis of these three factors. However, John W. Campbell feels there is a different basic structure behind the Finagle, fudge and diddle factors. The Finagle factor, he claims, is characterized by changing the universe to fit an equation. The fudge factor, on the other hand, changes the equation to fit the universe. And finally, the diddle factor changes things so that th universe and the equation appear to fit, without making any real change in either. For example, the planet Uranus was introduced to the universe when Newtonian laws couldn't be to match known planetary motions. This is a beautiful example of the application of the Finagle factor. Einstein's work leading to relativity was strongly influenced by the observed facts about the orbit of Mercury. Obviously a fudge factor was introduced. The photographer's use of a "soft-focus" lens when taking portraits of women over 35 is an example of the diddle factor. By blurring the results, photographs are made to appear to match the facts in a far more satisfactory manner. To our knowledge, this is the first clear enunciation of the scientific method. All our vast sum of human knowledge has been derived with these as the basic tools. By having them in writing for the first time, perhaps our children can build even better futures than the best we envision today. REPRODUCED FROM THE IRE STUDENT QUARTERLY, SEPTEMBER 1958. ENDFILE Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253