Why everything takes longer than you think (Mayfer's Law)

Re:Why everything takes longer than you think (Mayfer's Law) by lioeters on Friday October 22, 2021 @09:36AM (#28957031)

> Hofstadter’s Law: Everything takes longer than you think it will, even when Hofstadter’s Law is taken into account.

> Mayfer’s Law: The miscalculation of time required for achievement enables the undertaking of endeavors far larger than we would knowingly attempt to achieve.

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  James T. Kirk: How much refit time before we can take her out again?

  Montgomery Scott: Eight weeks, Sir - but ya don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for ya in two.

  James T. Kirk: Mr.Scott. Have you always multiplied your repair estimates by a factor of four?

  Montgomery Scott: Certainly, Sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?

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Re:Why everything takes longer than you think (Mayfer's Law) by jaclaz on Friday October 22, 2021 @12:30PM (#28959255)

I personally tend to use (jokingly) "Latin" times (useful for countries like Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, but also large parts of France and Romania), basically you take initial Swiss (proverbially exact) estimated time, double it and pass to the next bigger unit of measure, i.e. 2 weeks=4 months, 2 days=4 weeks, etc.

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