Rules of Thumb

There are laws of nature-like gravity, thermodynamics, and Newtonian principles-that help explain our reality. And then there are human laws, many of which cannot be scientifically proven and yet are clearly true.

The law of ketchup, for example: First there is nothing for a long time . . . then suddenly there is too much. Or physicist Douglas Hofstadter's law: Everything always takes longer than expected (even if you take Hofstadter's law into account). Or Parkinson's law: Meetings always take at least as twice long as we expect them to. Some of these truisms are world-famous; some well-kept secrets. Some are tongue-in-cheek; others imbue wisdom. But they all help us reframe our perspective and navigate the absurdities of everyday life. Pocket-sized, practical, and studded with whimsical illustrations, Rules of Thumb offers us the best of these laws for posterity.