始料不及後果定律

[LaoLiang]

Hi There,

Searching the net for a translation to the law of unintended consequences this was found: "始料不及後果定律"

Although for a certain aspect it is similar to the original meaning, it still misses a lot. Would appreciate it if someone could come up with a better idea.

Thanks

LL

[LaoLiang]

Found this as well: 意外结果定律, however it's not satisfactory either.

Any ideas?

[semantic nuance]

Perhaps you'd better provide more details about that phrase you wanted to translate. Context is very important to decide the translation.

[LaoLiang]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for the Chinese for "The law of unintended consequences", you can ready more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_law_of_unintended_consequences

"In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences) are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by the American sociologist, Robert K. Merton.^[1] Unintended consequences can be roughly grouped into three types:

• A positive, unexpected benefit (usually referred to as serendipity or a windfall).
  
• A negative, unexpected detriment occurring in addition to the desired effect of the policy (e.g., while irrigation schemes provide people with water for agriculture, they can increase waterborne diseases that have devastating health effects, such as schistosomiasis).
  
• A perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended (when an intended solution makes a problem worse), such as when a policy has a perverse incentive that causes actions opposite to what was intended.
  

The law of unintended consequences is an adage or idiomatic warning that an intervention in a complex system always creates unanticipated and often undesirable outcomes.^[2][3][4][5] Akin to Murphy's law, it is commonly used as a wry or humorous warning against the hubristic belief that humans can fully control the world around them."

[semantic nuance]

The first time I saw this phrase, the first Chinese phrase came to my mind was 有心栽花花不開，無心插柳柳成蔭。 Of course, this is not what you wanted but the spirit is close. Yes, I already read defintions when the last time I googled. There're other two translations, apart from what you've posted, but I don't think they differ too much. They are: ：“意外效應法則, "非預期結果法則".

My attempt is if it is used positively: 無心插柳定律 /法則 , 歪打正著定律 / 法則, 結果出乎意料定律 / 法則. If it is used negatively, 弄巧成拙定律 / 法則. But mind you, that's only my own interpretations, since those you found sounded more fixed and authentic.

[LaoLiang]

I think the key here is the word "unintended", it implies that there was an intention to achieve a certain outcome.

It's not only that a certain outcome was "unexpected" a "surprise" but that it was "unintended". I'm not a native English speaker so not sure about this, but that's just how it feels.

To me it seems that 意外 is more unexpected than unintended. What do you think? If 意外 is indeed unintended than 意外结果定律 might be fine.

[semantic nuance]

I think 意 itself contains 'expect' as well as 'intend', so anything goes beyond 'expectation' or 'intention' can be 意外。Could you show the sentence with the phrase you asked?

[LaoLiang]

"Could you show the sentence with the phrase you asked? "

Pardon? Not sure to which phrase you're referring to, I'm just looking for the name in Chinese for the law of unintended consequences

Oh, and, I didnt want to split it into a negative and positive context as that is a subjective judgement of the outcome.

[Michaelyus]

Also accepted are: 意外后果定律、意料以外定律、非原先预期的后果定律. For something so specific (and if you don't require a 'natively Chinese' equivalent), the one you've already supplied is adequate, as are all the others - they are all meant to represent the same 'reality', no?