No. 155 - Occam's Razor

I heard someone on the radio this morning use the term "Occam's razor." I've heard it before but, even in the context of the discussion, I could not quite determine its meaning.

I learned that Occam's (or Ockham's) razor is a principle attributed to the 14th century logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. Ockham was the village in the English county of Surrey where he was born.

The principle states that "entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily" and the conclusion is that the simplest solution is usually the correct one.

Other common interpretations are:

If you have two equally likely solutions to a problem, choose the simplest.

The simplest explanation for some phenomenon is more likely to be accurate than more complicated explanations.

Occam's razor was likely the origin to the KISS principle. You remember that one, right? Keep It Short and Simple or Keep It Simple, Stupid. The KISS principle states that simplicity should be a key goal in design, and that unnecessary complexity should be avoided.