Mrs. Parkinson’s Law: And Other Studies in Domestic Science
by C. Northcote Parkinson, 1968

At the business library at school, I was looking for “Parkinson’s Law”, which is a fairly famous book that includes the adage that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” What I found, instead, was “Mrs. Parkinson’s Law”, by the same author. Flipping through the pages, the book seemed to mesh humorous descriptions of domestic behavior with complex mathematical formulas: a combination I found worthy of a checkout.

I started reading the book to myself on our recent road-trip to Montana. By the 3rd chapter or so, I was reading out loud to Maria as she drove, the book being so funny. It has incredibly apt descriptions of the silliness of some aspects of life. The title “law” comes about in chapter seven:
Mrs. Parkinson’s Law: Heat produced by pressure expands to fill the mind available from which it can pass only to a cooler mind.

This law basically means that the complications and perceived slights of daily life can fester and frustrate an individual. At which point they will become madder and angrier until they can relieve the pressure by complaining to a less-harassed person. The book implies that the husband-wife combo is not usually the best outlet for the pressure release. It goes on to give a silly, but intricate, mathematical expression to the pressure and temperature experienced by an individual.

A particularly funny chapter deals with “Hosts and Guests”. A 4-8 page derivation describes the fact that the optimal cocktail party should “invite fifty-five people on the assumption that those actually present will number about fifty.” Goodness.

Very funny, with interesting takes on everyday trivialities, this book is highly recommended.