on the Conservation of Desk Space
While trying to find a place on my new, large desk to work on my tax forms, I had a flash of insight which led me to the formulation of what I shall call Glick’s Law (a.k.a. the Law of Conservation of Desk Space). Namely:
The percentage of free space on a desk remains constant as the area of the desk surface increases without bound.
Glick’s Law can no doubt be attributed to the fact that paperwork exhibits the behavior — much like compounds in the gaseous state — of expanding to fill its container.
Figure 1. Notice the graph’s distinct lack of slope as the size of the desk increases.
This reminds me of a picture I saw on the internet somewhere of a cat sleeping in a glass bowl. It was given as proof that because cats take the shape of their containers they are indeed liquid, just like paperwork may indeed be gaseous.
Abby said this on February 2nd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Well observed, David. I’m sure John B would be proud…
Jonny said this on February 3rd, 2008 at 8:53 am
nerd.
david b said this on February 3rd, 2008 at 3:43 pm
For me the percentage of freespace is inversely proportional to the time elapsed since I gained control of the desk. I could send you a picture of mine, but it might be better for my “image” if I leave it to your imagination!
jowgli said this on February 3rd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Ah yes, I forgot about the time dependency. Also, I suppose one should consider the three-dimensional phenomena that can start to occur once the free space hits 0%.
davisagli said this on February 3rd, 2008 at 8:24 pm