Cutting Down Ockham's Razor via OpenMind Magazine [Shared]
We hear all the time that the simplest explanations are usually the right ones. This truth-testing idea—known as Ockham’s razor, after the English medieval philosopher William of Ockham—has been embraced by no less authorities than Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Today scientists invoke Ockham’s razor on topics ranging from Covid’s origins to cosmic dark matter, while folks debating a subject on social media regularly invoke it as their final arbiter. After all, why complicate something more than you need to? Isn’t it better to shave ideas down to their essential truths?
Ockham’s razor sounds logical and definitive, which is exactly what makes it dangerous. Not only is the assumption of simplicity often false, but following it blindly can lead to serious misunderstandings, both in science and in everyday life.
