Do You Have a Name For ...when you go to look at someone's computer/device/app and it magically is working perfectly when they go to show you? Like when the person is "Oh sure NOW it works..." simply by your presence? (Sorta like how the car stops making The Noise when the mechanic is nearby) I've always called it "I.T. Person Proximity Location Rectification" and was just wondering if we have a better name for the phenomenon |
Your term "I.T. Person Proximity Location Rectification" is quite descriptive and amusing!
I always carried a Leatherman tool, and was unafraid to open a computer at a moment's notice. I ruled the computers by fear. ;-)
On the other hand... one of the people I supported did exactly the right things to her computer as I watched... and it didn't work... I recommended she avoid computers, and she's now a very happy motivational coach.
No big deal, I like help call where I don't need to do anything. Better than trying to figure out why something doesn't work when it should and I can't influence the responsible people to actually fix it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauli_effect
see also
What OP is talking about is probably the user forgetting some detail about their actions immediately prior to the problem occurring and thereby being unable to reproduce the behavior, which is something anybody can do regardless of their technical knowledge.