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Instances of using Occam's razor to justify belief in less complex and more simple theories have been criticized as using the razor inappropriately. For instance Francis Crick stated that "While Occam's razor is a useful tool in the physical sciences, it can be a very dangerous implement in biology.
Occam's razor: Explanations which require fewer unjustified assumptions are more likely to be correct; avoid unnecessary or improbable assumptions. Popper's falsifiability criterion: For a theory to be considered scientific, it must be falsifiable. [7] Sagan standard: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. [8]
Hanlon's razor became well known after its inclusion in the Jargon File, a glossary of computer programmer slang, in 1990. [4] Later that year, the Jargon File editors noted lack of knowledge of the term's derivation and the existence of a similar epigram by William James , although this was possibly intended as a reference to William James ...
The desiderata of a "good" theory have been debated for centuries, going back perhaps even earlier than Occam's razor, [12] which often is taken as an attribute of a good theory. Occam's razor might fall under the heading of "elegance", the first item on the list, but too zealous an application was cautioned by Albert Einstein : "Everything ...
Walter Chatton (c. 1290–1343) was an English Scholastic theologian and philosopher who regularly sparred philosophically with William of Ockham, who is well known for Occam's razor. Chatton proposed an "anti-razor". From his Lectura I d. 3, q. 1, a. 1:
Hanlon's razor is a corollary of Finagle's law, named in allusion to Occam's razor, normally taking the form "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." As with Finagle, possibly not strictly eponymous.
William Ockham (c. 1285–1349) is remembered … [for the] maxim attributed to him and known as Occam's razor Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem or "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." The term razor refers to the act of shaving away unnecessary assumptions to get to the simplest explanation.
Occam's razor – the idea that explanatory mechanisms should not be posited without being necessary. Red herring – drawing attention to a certain element to mislead; Shaggy dog story – a long-winded anecdote designed to lure the audience into a false sense of expectation, only to disappoint them with an anticlimactic ending or punchline.