What is Occam's Razor?


Occam's (or Ockham's) razor is a principle named after the 14th-century mathematician and friar, William of Occam.  Ockham was the village in this English County where he was born. There are many resources to investigate this man and his theories. This is not about him but his thinking.  Thinkers are important to the world.  Overthinking something can be the death of it.

Most people have never heard of this and yet with the logical thinkers of today, it is almost built into our genetic code. We know things without realizing how or why we do.  The universe as a whole is almost emanating this into our very souls.  Our brains absorbing codes that alter our thinking giving the same idea to the masses at the same time.  I don't completely understand everything. When I hear something, my brain lets me know that logically the information is even viable.  The brain will calculate out many different scenarios. You will start to evaluate your own opinions, theories and reason as to why one thing sounds right vs. the other. Occam's razor is a logical way of thinking.

Short excerpts from the 14th-century theory:
"If you have two theories which both explain the observed facts then you should use the simplest until more evidence comes along"
"The simplest explanation for some phenomenon is more likely to be accurate than more complicated explanations."
"If you have two equally likely solutions to a problem, pick the simplest."
"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."
"Keep things simple!"

You have heard many of these concepts built into many popular slogans and methods of achieving a goal. The Occam's Razor does not only have to apply to only scientific experiments but it can be applied to everyday life.

This is a great scholarly way of looking at things.  The way you look at things dictates how you decipher, translate and learn things.  Then if you can learn things you can implement them into discovering the worlds secrets.

Comments