January 8, 2012
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If you’ve never taken a basic philosophy course, you may never have encountered the principle of Occam’s Razor. William of Ockham’s idea can be summarized by the phrase “Plurality should not be posited without necessity” or in other words, “simpler explanations are, other things being equal, generally better than more complex ones.” [source]
Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation is usually the best.
This can be applied to all areas of life. Consider this example:
Jane goes to get a beer from the fridge. When she opens it, she discovers there aren’t any beers left. She could swear there had been some left from the week before. She can choose from an array of options to explain why there is no more beer left:
- She drank all the beer but forgot about it (due to all the drinking).
- Her roommate drank the beer at some point as her roommate tends to do.
- The maintenance guy snuck into their apartment while they were sleeping and drank the beer.
- The beer dissolved into thin air despite the laws of physics.
- Invisible fairies stole the beer.
Obviously some of these reasons are more probable than others and therefore are better explanations for Jane. The simpler explanations (the first two) are the most elegant solutions.
This also applies to more complex scenarios. For instance, John might justify his own financial or relational misfortune by constructing elaborate imaginary forces working against him. Maybe the simple truth is that John sucks, and stuff doesn’t work out because he won’t do what it takes to get a handle on his life. Boom! Sliced! Occam’s razor is here to simplify your world.