Mental model · Reasoning
Occam’s razor
Occam’s razor: Between explanations that fit equally well, prefer the one requiring fewer assumptions.
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Between explanations that fit equally well, prefer the one requiring fewer assumptions.
Try it now
Take something puzzling that happened. Write the elaborate explanation you reached for, then the simplest one that also fits.
What to do with the answer
Test the simple one first — it is usually cheaper to check, and if it holds you have saved the whole investigation.
Where it misleads
Simple is not the same as true, and "fits equally well" is doing all the work. Some things really are complicated.
The module it belongs to
- Logical Thinking — Reason consistently