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A GenePoool.com Essay
Welcome to Occam's Razor
Occam's Razor is a philosophical and logical concept. It's attributed to William of Occam, a man who I know nothing about other than that he lived from 1285 to 1347, or possibly 1349. For the record, I also don't know where Occam is, but, I do know that it's also spelled Ockham. You're already impressed with my wealth of knowledge, aren't you?
Occam's Razor is a very simple concept to grasp, but a much more difficult one to practice. The essential idea is this: Given an "Effect" for which there is more than one possible "Cause", the SIMPLEST "Cause" is in all likelihood the correct one.
Here's a somewhat silly example. Say I'm sitting at a dinner table, and when my back is turned, the salt shaker disappears from the middle of the table.
Possibility number one: My son took it and ran off after the cat, because the cat makes a really cool face when you throw salt in his eyes.
Possibility number two: Aliens beamed it up through the ceiling in their on-going investigation of terrestrial spices.
Possibility number three: A demonic presence materialized beneath the table and stole the salt so that when the devil comes for me later I wont be able to throw salt over my shoulder.
In order to accept option number two I have to accept that intelligent extraterrestrials are interested in my salt, which means I have to accept the existence of visitors from outer space in the first place. Option number three requires that I first accept the existence of Satan, and second, that he's scared of my salt shaker. So option number one is clearly the simplest choice of the three. Especially if you know my son.
The reason I am writing a column called Occam's Razor is that I'm interested in taking a skeptical look at some of the things so many of us spend so much time believing. Like anything else, skepticism is a learned skill, and it's one that too many people don't bother to practice. I practice it all the time; it's fun, and also less filling.
I don't expect to be "right" all
the time, but I do promise to make you think, and that's all I'm
shooting for. Likewise, you may not like what I have to say, and
that's okay too. Debate with me as much as you'd like; I promise
to argue honorably with anyone who does not begin a comment with
"Dear stupid bastard".
© 2000, Gene Doucette
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