Sports, science, and society are filled with rules, theories, and laws like the Ninth Commandment, PV=nRT, Occam's Razor, and The Law of Diminishing Returns. Three strikes and you're out. "I" before "E" except after "C." Warm air rises. Pick one and explain its significance to you. (200-250 words) (1300 characters)


Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. I plan as a habit. I write monthly, weekly, and daily schedules; each is broken down into categories, sub-categories, and finally tasks. To me the most challenging thing about scheduling is determining just how long everything will take, as the recursive Hofstadter’s law suggests.


I have the law typed on a paper that I keep just to the left of my desk. I keep it there to be seen three times while I work. I like to see it first while I am making my schedule, as a sort of reminder that I should overestimate to account for the law. Rather than overestimate, I aim for slightly under the exact time to complete a task. That is how I first challenge the law.


I look at it while I am in the middle of a task. It is then either a comfort or a challenge. If my task begins to follow Hofstadter’s Law, then I can accept it as inevitable. However, if I am just where I should be or perhaps only a little lagging, I work even harder to disprove the law.


Finally, when I have finished my work. I glance at the paper, usually with triumph. I have not only disproven the law, but formulated my own corollary. Rosenberg’s Law: It always takes longer than I expect, except when I take into account Hofstadter’s law.