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> But Ockham's razor tells me I'm right. _probably_ right. Wikipedia: "Since one can always burden failing explanations with ad hoc hypotheses to prevent them
by ColanR 9y ago
> But Ockham's razor tells me I'm right.
_probably_ right. Wikipedia: "Since one can always burden failing explanations with ad hoc hypotheses to prevent them from being falsified, simpler theories are preferable to more complex ones because they are more testable." [1]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor
- fcbrooklyn 9y agoAnd this is easily testable. We just house a population of animals who sleep in a hermetically sealed environment that provides all that they need, but is never in darkness. After a couple of hundred million years we open the door and see if anyone is napping.
- hnzix 9y agoNot even "probably" right. Eg Quantum Physics is more complex than Newtonian. OcRaz is a heuristic that advises that simpler hypotheses should be tested first. It's not a magic SCIENCE! gun.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoOccams Razor, often misused as you imply, says not to multiply elements beyond necessity. Newtonian physics doesn't explain observed quantum effects and so there is a necessity to use a more complex system to explain all the observations. You're quite right to note it's heuristic nature, some people use it as if it's truth generating.