Occam's Razor Quotes

The simplest explanation is always the most likely.

It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem

I've always lived by this philosophy, when it comes to conspiracies, never to attribute to deviousness that which can be explained by incompetence.

A good theory explains a lot but postulates little.

I think simplicity is a good guide: The more economical a theory, the better.

When multiple explanations exist, the simplest is usually correct.

To invent without scruple a new principle to every new phenomenon, instead of adapting it to the old; to overload our hypothesis with a variety of this kind, are certain proofs that none of these principles is the just one, and that we only desire, by a number of falsehoods, to cover our ignorance of the truth.

We favor hypotheses for their simplicity and explanatory power, much as the architect of the world might have done in choosing which possibility to create.

During my sojourn in ironclad atheism, the primary arsenal leveled against Christianity had been its failure on empirical grounds. Surely, enlightened reason offered a more coherent cosmos. Surely, Occam's razor cut the faithful free from blind faith. There is no proof of God; therefore, it is unreasonable to believe in God.

The main purpose of science is simplicity and as we understand more things, everything is becoming simpler.

Whenever known and sufficient causes are available, it is anti-scientific to discard them in favour of a hypothesis that can never be verified.

The principle of Sturgeon's Razor states that the simplest answer to any problem is 90% crap.

What can be explained by the assumption of fewer things is vainly explained by the assumption of more things.

Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate. A plurality (of reasons) should not be posited without necessity.

The simplest and most psychologically satisfying explanation of any observed phenomenon is that it happened that way because someone wanted it to happen that way.

In my view, the argument from parsimony is really no argument at all - it typically functions only to shut down more interesting discussion. If history is any guide, it's never a good idea to assume that a scientific problem is cornered.

When deciding between two competing theories, always go with the one that doesn't involve a magic spell.

If I have learned anything as a scientist, it is that one should not make things complicated when a simple explanation will do.

Most scientists like to operate in the context of economy. If you don't need an explanatory principle, don't invoke it.

It is better to adopt the simplest explanation, even if it is not simple, even if it does not explain very much. A bright light is not necessary, a taper is all one needs to live in strangeness, if it faithfully burns.

I believe all complicated phenomena can be explained by simpler scientific principles.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and it is my job, my responsibility, as an astronomer to remind people that alien hypotheses should always be a last resort.

And this shows that people want to be stupid and they do not want to know the truth. And it shows that something called Occam's razor is true. And Occam's razor is not a razor that men shave with but a Law, and it says: Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. Which is Latin and it means: No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary. Which means that a murder victim is usually killed by someone known to them and fairies are made out of paper and you can't talk to someone who is dead.

Scientists often talk of parsimony (as in "the simplest explanation is probably correct," also known as Occam's razor), but we should not get seduced by the apparent elegance of argument from parsimony; this line of reasoning has failed in the past at least as many times as it has succeeded.