The theory expressed by Fritz Leiber in his novel, Conjure Wife –

"The way nails sometimes insist on bending when you hammer, as if they were trying to. Or the way machinery refuses to work. Matter’s funny stuff. In large aggregates, it obeys natural law, but when you get down to the individual atom or electron, it’s largely a matter of chance or whine."

Leiber, Fritz: Conjure Wife, 1968, Award Books, Universal Publishing & Distribution Co., New York