The designer’s handbook of eponymous laws — part 1: business & strategy
Eponymous laws express truths in concise, interesting, and sometimes funny ways. They reflect — and induce reflection — on the human condition, as well as the workings of science, math, and technology.
In this four-part series, I’ll share some of the most interesting Eponymous Laws I’ve come across. Ones that are relevant for designers, but that speak to the disciplines of business and strategy, human behavior, management, and technology. Disciplines we designers engage with on a daily basis.
I didn’t add commentary because they speak for themselves. I ordered them based on greatness, saving the best for last.
I’d love to know the ones you like. Share others I missed in the comments. And, as always, enjoy. 😊
№ 1 — Reed’s Law
“The utility of large networks, particularly social networks, can scale exponentially with the size of the network.
№ 2 — Metcalfe’s Law
“The value of a system grows as approximately the square of the number of users of the system.”
№ 3 — Gibrat’s Law
“The size of a firm and its growth rate are independent.”
№ 4— Sowa’s Law of Standards
“Whenever a major organization develops a new system as an official standard for X, the primary result is the widespread adoption of some simpler system as a de facto standard for X.”
№ 5 — Pareto Principle
For many phenomena, 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes.
№ 6 — Goodhart’s Law
“When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
№ 7 — Gause’s Law
“Complete competitors cannot coexist.”
№ 8 — Occam’s Razor
“Entities are not to be multiplied without necessity” (trans.)
№ 9— Shirky Principle
“Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.”
