Occam's Razor
William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347)
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Franciscan Friar
- "The Rule of Saint Francis"
- Physics + Logic + Theology
- Upset, Dispute, Excommunication
Occam's Faith
"Only faith gives us access to theological truths. The ways of God are not open to reason..."
Jodie Foster gets it all bass-ackwards:
Political Systems
- Small government
- Separation of church and state
-
Property rights
Occam's Razor in Science
How is Occam's Razor understood and applied by scientists?
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Perceiving Occam's Razor
- The Methodological Razor
- The Epistemological Razor
- The Ontological Razor
(Riesch, 2010)
Karl + William?
(Popper and Occam's Razor)
Popper says: Simplicity is inherent in a good hypothesis.
Simple = Testable
Problems with el Razor
Occam's Razor ≠ Simple (Strictly Speaking)
My Simple ≠ Your Simple
Paradigms and the Perception of Simplicity
Occam's Razor in Practise
Genetics and the colour of mice.
Set #1
P: wild-type x xinnamon
F1: all wild-type
F2: 3/4 wild-type: 1/4 cinnamon
Set #2
P: wild-type x black
F1: all wild-type
F2: 3/4 wild-type: 1/4 black
Set #3
P: cinnamon x brown
F1: all cinnamon
F2: 3/4 cinnamon: 1/4 brown
Set #4
P: black x brown
F1: al black
F2: 3/4 black: 1/4 brown
Set #5
P: cinnamon x black
F1: all wild-type
F2: 9/16 wild-type: 3/16 cinnamon:
3/16 black: 1/16 brown
Hey, it works!
When 1 locus fails, 2 works.
When 2 fails, 4 works.
If 1 works, 2 and 4 will work, but it's way more work.
The Glorious Debate of 2013
- Razor or Not -
...and was it worth it?
Theories:
Einstein (Relativity) vs. Freud (Psychoanalysis)
Battle of the Physics!
Newtonian Physics vs. General Relativity
Newtonian Physics vs. Quantum Mechanics
General Relativity vs. Quantum Mechanics
Cosmic Orientation:
Ptolemy (Geocentric) vs. Copernicus (Heliocentric)
SCIENCE!!
Popper (Theories) vs. Kuhn (Paradigms)
Hoof-beats:
Horse or Zebra?
Space-Time:
Lorentz (Ether) vs. Einstein (No-Ether)
Clarification:
"Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."
Who even is this guy? Well, he's got it right:
Occam's Razor [Not] in Science
Context anyone? Bad examples:
- Proving the existence/non-existence of God
- Proving the existence/non-existence of aliens
- Other debatable issues
Religion
- or -
The most popular way to completely misinterpret Occam's Razor.
Pop Culture
Contact (Movie), House (TV Show),
Scrubs (TV Show)
Big Bang Theory (TV Show):
Things to Remember:
Heuristic Device - Not a rule, not a law, just a nice way to look at something; in other words, a guide.
Parsimony - If there is an easier way, don't do it the hard way!
Plurality - Don't add extra stuff if you don't need to.
Simplicity is Subjective - What is the simplest explanation?
Again, Occam's Razor does not prove anything.
So, let's talk about it.
References
Herbermann, C. (1913). William of Ockham. Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
Kuhn, T. S. (1973). Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice. Previously unpublished Machette Lecture, delivered at Furman University.
Popper, K. (2002). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Routledge.
Riesch, H. (2010). Simple or Simplistic? Scientists’ Views on Occam’s Razor. Theoria, 67, 75-90.
Stansfield, W. D. (2002). Occam’s Razor and the Nature of Scientific Theories. The American Biology Teacher, 64(2), 107-109.
YouTube. (2009). Occam's Razor Dulled. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpe9b2sKTl8.
YouTube. (2008). Contact: Occam's Razor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oAp3jT8n6Qs.
YouTube. (2011). "The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization" clip - Big Bang Theory 1x09. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcxJ0rnkt2o&feature=player_embedded.
occam razor
By brendan
