So who was Murphy, anyway? You know, the guy who said “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong,” the succinct statement of the philosophy of overengineering. I’ve always wondered, but never heard anyone tell the story. Until, that is, I was perusing some back issues of the Annals of Improbable Research, and came across an article by Nick Spark, “The Fastest Man on Earth: Why everything you know about Murphy’s Law is wrong.” It’s an absolutely fascinating tale – something anyone who has ever related to Murphy’s Law, or used Murphy’s name in vain, should read.