Occam's Razor
One should not increase,
beyond what is necessary,
the number of entities required to explain anything.
Occam's razor is a
logical principle attributed to the mediaeval philosopher
William of Occam (or Ockham). The principle states
that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. This
principle is often called the Principle of
Parsimony. It underlies all scientific modeling
and theory building. It admonishes us to choose from a set of otherwise
equivalent models of a given phenomenon the simplest one. In any given model,
Occam's razor helps us to "shave off" those concepts, variables or constructs
that are not really needed to explain the phenomenon. By doing that, developing
the model will become much easier, and there is less chance of introducing
inconsistencies, ambiguities and redundancies
Principle of Parsimony
Principle of Simplicity
A criterion for deciding among scientific
theories or explanations. One should always choose the simplest
explanation of a phenomenon, the one that requires the fewest leaps of logic.
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