Parsimony: the quality of being frugal with explanations. Occam’s Duct Tape: the opposite of Occam’s razor: an approach to problems with an absurd number of assumptions. 5 It boils down generalities to their simpler items and therefore, philosophers that are nominalists often employ Occam’s razor. Nominalism: a philosophical theory that suggests reality is only made up of particular items, not of general entities. Ad hoc hypotheses unnecessarily complicate theories and are discarded according to Occam’s razor. Depending on the context, heuristics can help or hinder our decision-making.Īd Hoc Hypothesis: hypotheses or assumptions added to an ‘old theory’ to prevent the theory from being thrown out due to new conflicting evidence. Heuristic: mental shortcuts that help us make judgments of probabilities. They are mental tricks that aren’t right 100% of the time but often enough that they are worth using. Razor: philosophical ‘razors’ are principles or rules of thumb that allow us to ‘shave off’ unlikely explanations for a phenomenon. It is simply a heuristic that helps guide philosophers, scientists and policymakers on how best to approach a phenomenon. 1 However, it is important to note that favoring the simpler explanation does not mean it is true. This rule of thumb is known as Occam’s razor, and helps us eliminate overly elaborate theories as they are impenetrable and hard to prove or disprove. It turns out, even when it comes to more complex matters - like scientific theories or philosophical dilemmas - we tend to favor the simple explanation over the complicated one. Text B is a simple explanation and gets straight to the point, making us more likely to believe and accept it. Can we reschedule drinks?ĭespite the fact that Text A has more precise details, we are likely to feel annoyed by the overwhelming amount of information and excuses our friend is presenting. Text B: Hey, my stomach is feeling a little weird. My grandma also hasn’t been doing so well recently so if I do have spare time I should go check in on her. I also think I’ll be staying at the office later than expected because I was just assigned to this huge project. Text A: Sorry to do this, but my stomach is feeling weird and I have a bit of a fever and don’t think I’m up for a drink. A couple of hours before, you get one of the following texts: Imagine you have plans with your friend to go grab a drink after work.
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