Occam's razor
Prefer simpler explanations
Occam's razor is the principle that the simplest explanation is usually correct—or more precisely, that you shouldn't multiply causes beyond what's necessary to explain something.
Named for the medieval philosopher William of Ockham, it's invoked when choosing between competing theories: Occam's razor suggests the simpler hypothesis.
The razor metaphor implies shaving away unnecessary assumptions.
Excessive frugality with resources
- William of OckhamScholastic who championed economy
- nominalismUniversals exist as labels only
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- pluralityLargest share among several
entities · hypothesis · principle · assumptions · sufficiency · necessity · inference · postulate
Practical solving shortcut
- problem-solvingAddressing challenges methodically
- hypothesis testingStatistical method for evaluating claims
- scientific methodStructured process for investigation
- falsifiabilitySusceptibility to disproof
competing theories · elimination · diagnostic · troubleshooting · debugging · analysis · evaluation · criteria
Refined, graceful quality
- clarityState of being understandable
- straightforwardClear and uncomplicated
- uncomplicatedEasy to understand
- brevityShortness of expression
conciseness · precision · understandability · coherence · plainness · accessibility · purity · economy
Aesthetic of reduction
- streamlinedMade smooth and efficient
- functionalAble to operate correctly
- efficientProductive without waste
- essentialFundamentally necessary
uncluttered · reductive · elegant · clean · sparse · purposeful · user-centered · intuitive
parsimony
Excessive frugality with resources
- William of OckhamScholastic who championed economy
- nominalismUniversals exist as labels only
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
plurality · entities · hypothesis · principle · assumptions · sufficiency · necessity · inference · postulate · deduction
heuristic
Practical solving shortcut
- problem-solvingAddressing challenges methodically
- hypothesis testingStatistical method for evaluating claims
- scientific methodStructured process for investigation
falsifiability · competing theories · elimination · diagnostic · troubleshooting · debugging · analysis · evaluation · criteria
elegance
Refined, graceful quality
- clarityState of being understandable
- straightforwardClear and uncomplicated
- uncomplicatedEasy to understand
brevity · conciseness · precision · understandability · coherence · plainness · accessibility · purity · economy · parsimonious
minimalism
Aesthetic of reduction
- streamlinedMade smooth and efficient
- functionalAble to operate correctly
- efficientProductive without waste
essential · uncluttered · reductive · elegant · clean · sparse · purposeful · user-centered · intuitive · decluttered
- Rules of thumb80/20 rule, KISS principle, five-second rule, rule of thirds, less is more
- EponymsDarwinian, Alzheimer's disease, Freudian slip, cardigan, Parkinson's disease
- critical thinkingcritical thinking, reasoning, logic puzzles, analysis, inference
- philosophyethics, logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology
- mental modelsanchoring, confirmation bias, hindsight bias, first principles, loss aversion
- diagnosisdifferential diagnosis, diagnosis, diagnostic criteria, patient assessment, ruling out
Occam's razorovercomplication
Making something unnecessarily complex
overthinking · maximalism · Rube Goldberg machine · overengineering · epicycles