# Need a "Murphy's Law" type of name for this phenomenon: people watching over your shoulder fixes/bre **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284 "2014-04-16T19:11:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/1 "2014-04-16T19:11:04Z")
A guy I work with has the uncanny ability to fix things via telepathy. I’ll send him a note about such-and-such not working and instead is delivering XYZ error, he’ll respond that he can’t replicate the error and will come over to my desk … and sure enough, while he’s watching over my shoulder, such-and-such works exactly as it should. While I appreciate the problem going away, it’s still kind of maddening! (Also, makes me question my sanity and probably makes me look a touch incompetent.) I’ve gotten him back, though. When I’m watching over his shoulder as he does some task, twice now it hasn’t worked for him. 😃 If this doesn’t have a name already, it should. C’mon, Dopers … whaddya got? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/2 "2014-04-16T19:29:05Z")
I don’t know what he’s doing to you, but German has a word for what you’re doing: Fisselig. a temporary state of inexactitude and sloppiness elicited by another person’s nagging, _i.e.,_ failing at something you can normally do, just because somebody is standing there watching you. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/3 "2014-04-16T19:42:56Z")
It’s like taking your car to the mechanic - it never, ever makes that particular sound while the mechanic is looking at it or test driving it. I like that word, Fisselig - that always happens to me when typing. If someone is watching me type in a password, I will invariably screw it up. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/4 "2014-04-16T20:02:23Z")
That’s called a [dancing frog](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dancing+frog). ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/5 "2014-04-16T20:27:01Z")
Fisselig! That’s fabulous. Next time my boss gets naggy, I’m going to say “oy, you’re giving me Fisselig!” (that wouldn’t be proper in German, but it would be perfect Yinglish." As for the OP’s question - Mechanic Syndrome? ---
**Author:** ![andrewm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/6 "2014-04-16T20:45:59Z")
[Heisenbug](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heisenbug): a problem that disappears when you attempt to study it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/7 "2014-04-16T21:24:58Z")
I don’t understand the phenomenon – but I definitely have experienced it. I was a computer repair guy for a pretty large corporation, and, yes, problems tended to disappear when I was present and users wanted to demonstrate them to me. It felt eerie; as if I had a magic aura that caused things to work better nearby me. Illusory, obviously, but still eerie. (That and my adamantium vorpal +4 Gremlin hammer…) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/8 "2014-04-16T21:35:32Z")
I, too, used to be in tech support and experienced the “it was doing it until you go here” phenomenon many times. It happened just this week, in fact, with a printer that had stopped working on Monday night, worked fine the minute I looked into the problem on Tuesday morning. I used to tell people my Leatherman tool was the source of the mojo, and sometimes leave it with them if they had a time-critical task to perform. True story. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/9 "2014-04-16T23:26:53Z")
> [@andrewm](#): > > [Heisenbug](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heisenbug): a problem that disappears when you attempt to study it. That’s great! Fisselig and Heisenbug - two great words from one thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/10 "2014-04-17T01:08:53Z")
Oh man. My workplace has been struggling with horrible computer, printer and telephone issues. Last week they had us keep a log to document everything. I din’t have one freaking problem to log all week long. The week before chaos. Pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/11 "2014-04-17T01:17:10Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > That’s called a [dancing frog](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dancing+frog). I like it. Dancing Frog Syndrome, AKA Heisenbug and Fisselig ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/12 "2014-04-17T01:23:26Z")
I used to have a car with a radio that would only work if my son turned it on. Intermittently, computers and gadgets will work for him when I’m sure I did the exact same thing - multiple times. Sometimes all he has to do is come in from the other room. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/13 "2014-04-17T18:06:10Z")
I took a computer class with a guy whose programs never worked for him - if I did exactly the same thing, it worked every time. One of those mysteries of life. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/14 "2014-04-18T20:40:26Z")
The German term is [Vorführeffekt](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorf%C3%BChreffekt) (both for something not working, or for a defect not being reproduced, when attempting to demonstrate it to someone). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/15 "2014-04-18T21:13:55Z")
I’m a programmer and work with other tech’s. We call it the magic eye. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-murphys-law-type-of-name-for-this-phenomenon-people-watching-over-your-shoulder-fixes-bre/686284/16 "2014-04-19T02:16:04Z")
I used to have a coworker who could crash stuff just by touching it. He never manhandled anything, if anything, he was overly careful. His care was justified, because if something was going to break…it would do it in his hands. I was once showing him how to do something on the computer, with Joe asking before clicking every single time…and he crashed the server. It got to the point that the IT people wouldn’t even bother to ask which workstation had gone down. They would go straight to Joe’s.