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Occam's razor is not just about simple rules. The original formulation is: "plurality should not be posited without necessity". Necessity here is empirical adeq
by hackinthebochs 2y ago
Occam's razor is not just about simple rules. The original formulation is: "plurality should not be posited without necessity". Necessity here is empirical adequacy. A theory that posits an unbounded, exponential growth in states fails the simplicity test against an empirically adequate theory that posits bounded state.
- adastra22 2y agoThe philosophy of science has advanced significantly since the 12th century, and scientists don’t generally use the original definition anymore. I have never, ever heard it expressed in this statistical mechanics sense, and it doesn’t line up with most advances in physics (my field) which have been accompanied by increased number of states but fewer rules.