This is a list of adages named after people (eponymous adages). For other lists of eponyms, see eponym. An adage is a short, but memorable saying, which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or it has gained some credibility through its long use. ... An eponym is a person (real or fictitious) whose name has become identified with a particular object or activity. ...

The list

• Amara's law - We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run. Proposed by Roy Amara.
• Brooks' law - Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. Named after Fred Brooks - author of the well known tome on project management, The Mythical Man-Month.
• Clarke's three laws. Formulated by Arthur C. Clarke.
  • 1^st law: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
  • 2^nd law: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little ways past them into the impossible.
  • 3^rd law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
• Dilbert Principle - The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management. Coined by Scott Adams, author of the comic strip Dilbert.
• Finagle's law - Anything that can go wrong, will. A generalized version of Murphy's law. Finagle is not a real individual.
• Godwin's law - As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one. Coined by Mike Godwin in 1990.
• Gresham's law - Bad money drives good money out of circulation. Coined in 1858 by British economist Henry Dunning Macleod, and named for Sir Thomas Gresham (1519 - 1579).
• Hanlon's razor - A corollary of Finagle's law, normally taking the form Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Not named after a real person.
• 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.
• Keynes's law - Demand creates its own supply. Attributed to economist John Maynard Keynes, and contrasted to Say's law.
• Linus's law - Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow. Named for Linus Torvalds, initiator of the kernel of the GNU/Linux operating system.
• Littlewood's law - Individuals can expect miracles to happen to them at the rate of about one per month. Coined by Professor John Edensor Littlewood.
• Murphy's law - If anything can go wrong, it will" or If it can happen, it will happen. Ascribed to Edward A. Murphy, Jr.
• Occam's razor - Explanations should never multiply causes without necessity. When two explanations are offered for a phenomenon, the simplest full explanation is preferable. Named after William of Ockham.
• Okrent's law - The pursuit of balance can create imbalance because sometimes something is true.
• Parkinson's law - Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Coined by C. Northcote Parkinson.
• Pareto principle - For many phenomena, 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes. Named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, but framed by management thinker Joseph M. Juran.
• Peter principle - In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. Coined by Laurence J. Peter.
• Ralph's observation - It is a mistake to allow any mechanical object to realize that you are in a hurry.
• Say's law - Supply creates its own demand. Attributed to economist Jean-Baptiste Say and contrasted to Keynes's Law
• Sturgeon's law - Ninety percent of everything is crud. Derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon.
• Ugol's law - If you ever ask, "am I the only one who has this kink?", the answer is invariably, "no".

Amaras law is a maxim stating: It was put forth by Roy Amara of the Institute for the Future. ... Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. ... Frederick Phillips Brooks, Jr. ... Book cover The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering is a classic book on software project management written by Fred Brooks. ... Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke formulated the following three laws: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. ... Arthur C. Clarke, progenitor of communication satellites, is considered by many to be a grand master of science fiction. ... The Dilbert Principle refers to the 1990s satirical theory that companies should promote their worst employees to management. ... This article is about the cartoonist; another Scott Adams is a game designer. ... Dilbert is a popular American comic strip. ... The adage Finagles Law of Dynamic Negatives is the generalized or folk version of Murphys law, and usually rendered: One variant (known as OTooles Corollary of Finagles Law) favored among hackers is (but see also Hanlons Razor). ... This article is about the popular adage in Western culture. ... Godwins law (also Godwins rule of Nazi analogies) is an adage in Internet culture that was originated by Mike Godwin in 1990. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Mike Godwin is the creator of Godwins law. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Greshams law is stated as: Bad money drives good money out of circulation. Greshams law applies specifically when there are two forms of commodity money in circulation which are forced, by the application of legal tender laws, to be respected as having the same face value in the... 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Sir Thomas Gresham (~1519 - 21 November 1579) was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edwards half-sister Queen Elizabeth I of England. ... A corollary of Finagles law, Hanlons Razor reads: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. ... The adage Finagles Law of Dynamic Negatives is the generalized or folk version of Murphys law, and usually rendered: One variant (known as OTooles Corollary of Finagles Law) favored among hackers is (but see also Hanlons Razor). ... Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American academic. ... Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15, 1945) is an American academic. ... GEB cover Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Douglas Hofstadter, first published in 1979 by Basic Books. ... Keynesian economics, or Keynesianism, is an economic theory based on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, as put forward in his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936 in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. ... John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes of Tilton (pronounced Kaynes) (June 5, 1883 – April 21, 1946) was an English economist, whose radical ideas had a major impact on modern economic and political theory as well as Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal. ... Says law is an economic principle, formulated by Jean-Baptiste Say, that asserts that there can be no demand without supply. ... Linuss law, named after Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, states that given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow. More formally: Given a large enough beta-tester and co-developer base, almost every problem will be characterized quickly and the fix obvious to someone. ... A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working correctly or produces an incorrect result. ... Linus Torvalds Linus Benedict Torvalds (born December 28, 1969) began the development of Linux, an operating system kernel, and today acts as the project coordinator (or Benevolent Dictator for Life). ... A Linux distribution or GNU/Linux distribution (or a distro) is a Unix-like operating system comprising software components such as the Linux kernel, the GNU toolchain, and assorted free and open source software. ... Littlewoods Law states that individuals can expect a miracle to happen to them at the rate of about one per month. ... John Edensor Littlewood (June 9, 1885 - September 6, 1977) was a British mathematician. ... This article is about the popular adage in Western culture. ... Occams Razor (also Ockhams Razor or any of several other spellings), is a principle attributed to the 14th century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham that forms the basis of methodological reductionism, also called the principle of parsimony or law of economy. ... William of Ockham (also Occam or any of several other spellings) (ca. ... Parkinsons law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. ... Cyril Northcote Parkinson (July 30, 1909 - March 9, 1993) was a British historian and author of some sixty books. ... The misnamed Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 Rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity) states that for many phenomena 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes. ... Vilfredo Pareto (July 15, 1848 - August 19, 1923) made several important contributions to economics, sociology and moral philosophy, especially in the study of income distribution and in the analysis of individuals choices. ... The Peter Principle is a theory originated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter which states that employees within a hierarchical organization advance to their highest level of competence, are then promoted to a level where they are incompetent, and then stay in that position. ... Dr Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990) was an educator and hierarchiologist, best known to the general public for the formulation of the Peter Principle. ... Says law is an economic principle, formulated by Jean-Baptiste Say, that asserts that there can be no demand without supply. ... Jean-Baptiste Say (January 5, 1767 - November 15, 1832) was a French economist and businessman. ... Keynesian economics, or Keynesianism, is an economic theory based on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, as put forward in his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936 in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. ... Sturgeons Law is an adage derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon: By extension, it is taken as a caution against sweeping generalizations, especially about quality in fields of artistic endeavors. ... Theodore Sturgeon (February 26, 1918 Staten Island, New York - May 8, 1985) was an American science fiction author. ...

See also

• Eponym
• Adages