Thursday 22 February 2024

Occam's Razor, In Simple Terms

 Early in my college adventure, with the Pierce Community College (Tacoma), I took this course in Logic.  It was a total waste of time....a class taught by a visiting Italian  professor whose  English was marginal, but I seemed to have picked up a dozen things which helped later in life.

One of the things that we engaged upon one night....was Occam's Razor.

For those who didn't know the origin of this 'idea'....it was back in the 1400s...with some Friar (William of Oakham).  'Bill' had probably spent a lot of time just thinking and pondering about things.  In his world....as it is today....problems come up and people search for an answer. When answers aren't readily available....you need a simple way to solve the problem.

So this 'razor' says that if you put up some possible answers (from one to a hundred)....the simplest one is the one to side with....unless you get more facts.  The simplest one?  Yes, ALWAYs. 

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