Well, my nickname in my first job out of grad school was Murphy (as in murphys law). I was essentially a dowsing rod for corner cases and it was very much not intentional and extremely distressing. You could say I have some experience.

I've worked in a number of factories and it seems like everyone of them has a Murphy. The people who get confronted with problems that begin with everyone saying 'thats not actually possible'. I will always remember the poor guy who had to figure out the local fire department's radio repeater was rebooting ONE SINGLE piece of equipment in a factory from about a third of a mile away.

I have always wondered if there is a way to detect this particular trait either using MRI or possibly smell. Once you are in a space you can usually identify them because everyone seems to slightly avoid their workspace out of fear of being infected.

> I will always remember the poor guy who had to figure out the local fire department's radio repeater was rebooting ONE SINGLE piece of equipment in a factory from about a third of a mile away.

Old relays (especially when switching large DC currents) are fantastic for this purpose. The arc will essentially give off a mini EMP across the whole spectrum and woe to you if your gear isn't shielded and grounded properly.

I have a family member like that. She walks into the room: all computing equipment mysteriously crashes. I haven't been able to pin it on a real world cause yet.