• Source: Laws of holes

The law of holes, or the first law of holes, is an adage which states: "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." It is used as a metaphor, warning that when in an untenable position, it is best to stop making the situation worse. The second law of holes is commonly known as: "when you stop digging, you are still in a hole."




Background


When it is said, "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging", it is because digging a hole makes it deeper and therefore harder to get out of.




Attribution


The adage has been attributed to a number of sources. It appeared in print on page six of The Washington Post dated 25 October 1911, in the form: "Nor would a wise man, seeing that he was in a hole, go to work and blindly dig it deeper..."
In 1983, Bill Brock was quoted "Let me tell you about the law of holes: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."
In the United Kingdom, it has been referred to as "Healey's first law of holes" after politician Denis Healey, who used the adage in the 1980s and later.




Malapropism


On 4 May 2024, British politician Suella Braverman wrote in The Daily Telegraph: "The hole to dig us out is the PM's, and it's time for him to start shovelling." According to The Guardian, this sentence "does not make sense".




See also


Escalation of commitment
Gresham's law
Sunk cost fallacy




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Stephen Hawking
• Elektron lubang hitam
• MOSFET
• Hamas
• Negara Islam Irak dan Syam
• Kematian panas alam semesta
• Universitas Nasional Irlandia, Galway
• Fred Hoyle
• Laws of holes
• Black hole thermodynamics
• Black hole
• Hole
• Zeroth law
• Holes (novel)
• Glory hole
• Newton's laws of motion
• Micro black hole
• Supermassive black hole