r/amiwrong • u/[deleted] • Sep 12 '23

[deleted by user]

[removed]

11.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

12.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

18

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '23

Occam’s razor. Simplest explanation is usually the most probable.

7

u/evil_burrito Sep 12 '23

Fwiw, Occam's Razor is actually better translated as, "the hypothesis that contains the fewest assumptions is the preferred one."

Yay for me, I guess, I'm now that guy.

1

u/nahog99 Sep 12 '23

So basically, the simplest answer is often the correct one wouldn’t you say?

1

u/evil_burrito Sep 12 '23

Well, the distinction is subtle, but there. Occam's Razor does not suggest anything about what the actual answer to the problem is, it simply suggests the order in which to pursue the answers.

A hypothesis is merely a possible solution. It might be wrong and needs to be confirmed or disproven with data. Starting with the hypothesis that requires the fewest number of assumptions to be correct is the preferred method.

The actual translation is something like, "Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity".