Laws for Life
less than a minute
Gall's Law
Gall’s Law states that “a complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.” This principle emphasizes the importance of starting with a simple, functional solution and iteratively improving it, rather than attempting to design a complex system from the ground up.
Goodhart's Law
Goodhart’s Law states that “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” This principle highlights the potential pitfalls of relying too heavily on quantitative metrics for decision-making, as it can lead to unintended consequences and a focus on meeting targets rather than achieving meaningful outcomes.
Hick's Law
Hick’s Law states that “the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.” This principle highlights the importance of simplifying choices and reducing options to improve decision-making efficiency.
Murphy's Law
Murphy’s Law states that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” This adage emphasizes the importance of anticipating potential problems and challenges in any endeavor, encouraging proactive planning and risk management.
Occam's Razor
Occam’s Razor is a problem-solving principle that suggests the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. It encourages individuals to avoid unnecessary complexity and to prioritize straightforward solutions when faced with competing hypotheses.
Pareto Principle (aka 80/20 Rule)
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. This principle can be applied in various fields, including business, economics, and personal productivity, to identify and focus on the most impactful factors.
Parkinson's Law
Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” This adage highlights the tendency for tasks to take longer than expected, often due to factors like procrastination, lack of focus, or inefficient processes. Understanding this law can help individuals and organizations set more realistic deadlines and improve time management.
The Law of Attraction
The Law of Attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. This principle emphasizes the power of the mind in shaping reality and encourages individuals to focus on their desires and goals to manifest them.
The Law of Diminishing Returns
The Law of Diminishing Returns states that as one input variable is increased, while other input variables are held constant, a point will eventually be reached at which additions of the input yield progressively smaller increases in output. This principle is commonly applied in economics, business, and productivity to illustrate the limitations of resource allocation.
The Law of Supply and Demand
The Law of Supply and Demand is an economic theory that describes the relationship between the availability of a resource and the demand for that resource. It states that when the supply of a good or service increases, the price tends to decrease, and when the supply decreases, the price tends to increase, assuming demand remains constant.
The Peter Principle
The Peter Principle states that “in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence.” This means that people are often promoted based on their performance in their current role rather than their ability to perform in the new role. As a result, they may eventually be placed in positions where they are not competent, leading to inefficiency and frustration.
Vicious vs. Virtuous Cycle
This concept describes how behaviors and outcomes can create either positive or negative feedback loops in our lives. A virtuous cycle promotes growth and improvement, while a vicious cycle leads to decline and stagnation.
Zipf's Law
Zipf’s Law or the “Principle of Least Effort” states that in a given dataset, the frequency of any item is inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table. This means that a few items are very common, while many items are rare. It highlights the uneven distribution of resources or phenomena in various fields, including linguistics, economics, and information theory.