Fact 1262 — Hofstadter’s law

“Hofstadter’s law” states a planning paradox: a task tends to take longer than you expect, even when you have already allowed for that effect. Douglas Hofstadter introduced the phrase in his 1979 book *Gödel, Escher, Bach* while discussing earlier predictions about computer chess. It is a witty observation about the difficulty of estimating time, not a scientific law or a precise rule for every task.