Buzz
Scientific laws, along with those found in the social sciences, aim to observe, define, and explain various phenomena. The term "law" in this context is frequently used interchangeably with "principle," as they essentially mean the same thing. Unlike hypotheses or postulates, laws gain strength from rigorous testing and observation. Some laws are widely recognized—such as Newton’s laws of motion and Murphy’s law—but new ones are being proposed, researched, and named continuously. Have you heard of the law stating that the longer an online discussion lasts, the more likely it is that someone will reference Hitler? Or the law suggesting that articles about feminism are the reason we need feminism? Or the one claiming that the less significant an argument, the nastier the debate becomes? For more on these, keep reading!
10.
Law: Betteridge’s law of headlines
Betteridge’s law—also known as Davis’s law or the “journalistic principle” derived from Murphy’s law—proclaims that "any headline ending with a question mark can be answered with the word no." This adage, coined by British tech journalist Ian Betteridge (although not the first to observe it), reflects skepticism toward headlines that try to lure readers into often exaggerated and unproven stories. Headlines like “will the world end tomorrow?” and “have scientists found the cure for cancer?” are usually answered with a simple no.
Next time you encounter a newspaper headline posing a question (particularly a yes-or-no type), try responding with “no.” More often than not, you’ll find that Betteridge’s law holds true—such headlines tend to be a lazy, sometimes fear-mongering method of capturing a reader’s attention.
9.
Law: Dollo’s law of evolutionary irreversibility
Dollo’s law asserts that evolution proceeds in a single direction. In other words, once certain traits are lost, they do not reappear; animals, for example, do not regenerate a limb that their ancestors lost, nor do they revert to earlier forms. This hypothesis, introduced in 1893 by French paleontologist Louis Dollo, was based on his observations of the seemingly irreversible nature of evolutionary processes. Richard Dawkins, however, offers a different view, claiming that the law is not a fundamental rule but rather “a statement about the statistical improbability of following exactly the same evolutionary path twice (or any particular path), in either direction.”
In a surprising twist, scientists have uncovered potential flaws in Dollo’s law. Researchers at the University of Michigan have been studying the dust mite, a small arachnid found in homes worldwide. Their research points to evidence that seems to contradict Dollo’s law: dust mites were once parasites (requiring a host to survive), but before that, they evolved from free-living ancestors. In essence, the dust mite transitioned from free-living to parasitic and then back to free-living, which could be seen as “evolution in reverse.” Other possible exceptions to the law include the wings of stick insects and certain muscles in primates.
8.
Law: Duverger’s law of 2-party domination
Duverger’s law is a concept from political science suggesting that two-party systems emerge due to “plurality rule” elections. Proposed by French sociologist Maurice Duverger, the law posits that in electoral systems where each voter casts one vote for one candidate, and the candidate with the most votes wins (often referred to as the first-past-the-post system), a two-party system will likely arise and persist. As a result, third parties tend to be marginalized. Although the law isn’t universally applicable—there are plurality systems where this doesn’t occur—it generally holds true in most cases.
Duverger offered several explanations for this phenomenon. He believed that coalitions between smaller third parties are unlikely, and that these parties will eventually be pushed out. Voters, concerned that their votes might be wasted, often choose the major candidate from the two dominant parties who most closely aligns with their views. This leads to artificially low vote totals for third parties. A two-party system, once established, tends to reinforce itself, and many have argued that this can have detrimental effects on a country’s political health.
7.
Law: Godwin’s law of Nazi analogies
If you've ever spent time online—and given that you're reading Mytour, it’s likely you have—you've probably encountered Godwin’s Law at least once. In 1990, American lawyer and writer Mike Godwin introduced what became known as “Godwin’s Law of Nazi Analogies,” which states: “As an online discussion continues, the probability of a Nazi or Hitler comparison approaches one.” In simpler terms, the longer the conversation lasts, the more likely someone will use Hitler as a means of winning the argument.
While Godwin’s Law may seem to hold true in many cases, Godwin himself has clarified that he never intended it to be an absolute rule. Instead, he treated it as an experiment in “memetics”—the study of cultural ideas, or memes—to see if he could create a “counter-meme.” Witnessing the excessive and often trivial use of Nazi comparisons in Usenet forums, Godwin coined the law to raise awareness and, possibly, reduce such analogies in discussions.
6.
Law: Hotelling’s law of identical products
Have you ever noticed how restaurants and food companies often produce nearly identical products? For example, you could grab a burger at McDonald’s or head over to Burger King for one that’s almost the same. You can choose Coke or Pepsi. Or how a bakery around the corner makes a new raspberry scone, and soon after, another bakery just a block away introduces their version? This economic phenomenon is called Hotelling’s Law—also known as the principle of minimum differentiation—and it suggests that in some markets, it’s a smart business move to create products that closely resemble one another.
This law was introduced by economist Harold Hotelling in his 1929 article “Stability in Competition.” Hotelling argued that in certain scenarios, competitors naturally gravitate toward the middle ground. One company introduces a slight change, and the competitor follows suit until both products are virtually identical. Hotelling’s law can also be observed in politics, particularly in two-party systems, where candidates tend to shift toward the center and away from the extremes.
5.
Law: Lewis’s law of online feminism
Lewis’s Law isn’t so much a formal law as it is a keen observation about the ongoing need for gender equality, especially in the realms of technology and the internet. In 2012, British journalist Helen Lewis tweeted, "the comments on any article about feminism justify feminism," a sentiment she dubbed “Lewis’s Law.” In essence, Lewis points out that online discussions about feminism tend to attract a flood of comments that inadvertently prove the very necessity of feminism. These discussions are so often flooded with hostile, sexist remarks that they highlight how far we are from achieving a society where women are treated equally to men.
4.
Law: Sayre’s law of low-stakes arguments & Parkinson’s law of triviality
Have you ever observed that the lower the stakes in an argument, the more heated the debate becomes? This phenomenon is explained by academic Charles Philip Issawi: "In any dispute, the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake." The law is named after political scientist Wallace Stanley Sayre of Colombia University, who noticed that academic political debates are often fiercely combative, despite their lack of significant consequences.
This principle connects to another idea in political science, Parkinson’s law of triviality, which suggests that organizations tend to spend an excessive amount of time on minor details, while overlooking more important issues. Named after humorist C. Northcote Parkinson, it is also referred to as the “color of the bike shed” effect. Parkinson illustrated this with an example of a committee that devoted little attention to a critical topic, like the design of an atomic reactor, and instead, dedicated an overwhelming amount of time discussing the color of a bike shed. As Parkinson famously put it, “The time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.”
3.
Law: Smeed’s law of traffic fatalities
British statistician R.J. Smeed, who studied traffic trends, introduced Smeed’s Law in 1949. This law posits a connection between the number of traffic fatalities and congestion, suggesting that as car numbers rise, fatalities per capita also increase. However, interestingly, fatalities per vehicle tend to decline. Although this was valid during the period Smeed was researching, with modern advancements in vehicle safety, many argue that his law is becoming less relevant today.
Smeed proposed a number of provocative theories regarding transportation, one of which was the belief that the average speed of traffic in central London would always be 9 miles per hour, as people would not tolerate any faster pace. His law is essentially rooted in psychology; Smeed theorized that, as Freeman Dyson expressed it, “people will drive recklessly until the number of deaths reaches the maximum they can tolerate.”
2.
Law: Sutton’s law of obviousness
Sutton’s law, which is closely aligned with Occam’s Razor, suggests that when diagnosing a problem, particularly in the medical field, one should always consider the most straightforward solution first. In practice, this means that doctors should rule out the most obvious diagnoses before exploring more complex possibilities. While this law may seem self-evident, it is an important lesson for medical students, warning them to avoid jumping to conclusions in their diagnoses.
Interestingly, the law is not named after a prominent medical figure, but rather a notorious bank robber. The tale goes that Willie Sutton, a career criminal who successfully carried out bank heists for years, amassing an estimated $2 million, was once asked, “Willie, why do you keep robbing banks?” Sutton allegedly answered, “because that’s where the money is.” While Sutton himself denies ever making this statement, his name has nonetheless become associated with a key principle in the medical field.
1.
Law: Fitts’s law of pointing
At first glance, Fitts’s law may appear to be a basic, even trivial observation. In essence, it asserts that the time it takes to move a pointer to a target is influenced by two factors: the distance between the pointer and the target, and the size of the target itself. This law applies not only to the physical action of pointing with a finger or other object, but also to the virtual act of using a cursor on a computer to interact with a target image.
Formulated by psychologist Paul Fitts in 1954, Fitts’s law has become one of the most well-known principles in the study of human motion. Initially applied to areas like airplane safety, particularly in the arrangement of cockpit controls and buttons, it also found its place in investigations of UFO sightings. However, its most significant impact has been in the field of user interface (UI) design, especially for websites and computer applications. Simply put, Fitts’s law asserts that the larger and closer a clickable item is to the cursor, the easier it becomes to select. This has far-reaching implications for UI design, guiding web developers and programmers in decisions about element size, placement, and accessibility. Though it may seem straightforward, Fitts’s law is foundational in UI development, with complex applications that shape how user interfaces are designed and optimized.
