perversity of random events

i have lately dug up some books that i have read long ago and stashed away in the nether regions of my cabinets. some of them are barely recognizable — in fact i'm still puzzled why i bought them in the first place.

one of them is a tattered copy of Her Majesty's Wizard (whose virulent green cover features the 2 human protagonists and a dragon that looks like drunken iguana with wings) by Christopher Stasheff. as fantasy books go, it's not exactly groundbreaking or significant, but it's a mildly amusing read and there are several lines there that caught my eye — or rather quoted lines regarding perversity.

Take the case of Murphy's law (which i'm very familiar with):

If anything can go wrong, it will

and then there's Gunderson's law:

The least desirable possibility will always exert itself when the results will be frustrating. Or, if anything can go wrong, it will — at the worst possible moment.

now, that seems like an overly pessimistic view of things and rather a self-defeating tenet. then you tell yourself "surely not, no one can be that thoroughly unlucky "  — until, of course, it happens to you. and when you're left holding the bag (following paralyzing moments of shock and disbelief), you can wail to high heavens and gnash your teeth at the unfairness of it all (fate, life, luck… whatever you call it) or you can analyze things to death, but it still won't make you feel better. trust me. it's just a conjunction of random events that sweeps everything in its path, and you just happen to be in the way.

but wait, it doesn't end there. here's another gem, Finagle's general law:

The perversity of the universe tends toward the maximum

before you jump to conclusion, let me quote a comment from the lead character (Matthew Mantrell, the wizard):

Human beings are inherently perverse. They will project perversity into anything they look upon. The perversity's in our perceptions, not in the perceived – which is to say, it's in us.