"A fat man that loves Jollibee, Spaghetti, and eats approximately 900 buckets of chicken. And could eat an entire buffet into bankruptcy. Widely regarded as the "pinnacle of men", women love him, men want to be him, doctors hate him."
by moistPutanna March 29, 2020
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A variation on Occam's Razor devised by Hank Green theorizing that if an anomaly in society can be explained by socioeconomic status, it's probably that, rather than whatever obscure detail the anomaly is trying to measure.
Does playing racquet sports make people who play them live longer than everyone else? No, Hank's Razor indicates that people who play racquet sports are more likely to be wealthy and have better access to health care.
by Zijayar July 19, 2023
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(1911 is 777 in the Hexadecimal number system (Base 16). 777 Is the opposite to 666.)
(1911 is 777 in the Hexadecimal number system (Base 16). 777 Is the opposite to 666.)
by aNthraXx January 16, 2004
Get the Razor 1911 mug.The new music genre popularized by Kany West's "Stronger". Rapno synthesizes two forms of music, on opposite ends of the spectrum - Rap and Techno (forming the word "rapno").
Thought at one point to be incompatible, when placed together, the two can never make a better combination.
Thought at one point to be incompatible, when placed together, the two can never make a better combination.
by Ezra Sembler August 24, 2007
Get the rapno mug.Occam's razor is a logical principle attributed to the mediaeval philosopher William of Occam (or Ockham). The principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. This principle is often called the principle of parsimony. It underlies all scientific modelling and theory building. It admonishes us to choose from a set of otherwise equivalent models of a given phenomenon the simplest one. In any given model, Occam's razor helps us to "shave off" those concepts, variables or constructs that are not really needed to explain the phenomenon. By doing that, developing the model will become much easier, and there is less chance of introducing inconsistencies, ambiguities and redundancies.
Though the principle may seem rather trivial, it is essential for model building because of what is known as the "underdetermination of theories by data". For a given set of observations or data, there is always an infinite number of possible models explaining those same data. This is because a model normally represents an infinite number of possible cases, of which the observed cases are only a finite subset. The non-observed cases are inferred by postulating general rules covering both actual and potential observations.
For example, through two data points in a diagram you can always draw a straight line, and induce that all further observations will lie on that line. However, you could also draw an infinite variety of the most complicated curves passing through those same two points, and these curves would fit the empirical data just as well. Only Occam's razor would in this case guide you in choosing the "straight" (i.e. linear) relation as best candidate model. A similar reasoning can be made for n data points lying in any kind of distribution.
Occam's razor is especially important for universal models such as the ones developed in General Systems Theory, mathematics or philosophy, because there the subject domain is of an unlimited complexity. If one starts with too complicated foundations for a theory that potentially encompasses the universe, the chances of getting any manageable model are very slim indeed. Moreover, the principle is sometimes the only remaining guideline when entering domains of such a high level of abstraction that no concrete tests or observations can decide between rival models. In mathematical modelling of systems, the principle can be made more concrete in the form of the principle of uncertainty maximization: from your data, induce that model which minimizes the number of additional assumptions.
This principle is part of epistemology, and can be motivated by the requirement of maximal simplicity of cognitive models. However, its significance might be extended to metaphysics if it is interpreted as saying that simpler models are more likely to be correct than complex ones, in other words, that "nature" prefers simplicity.
Though the principle may seem rather trivial, it is essential for model building because of what is known as the "underdetermination of theories by data". For a given set of observations or data, there is always an infinite number of possible models explaining those same data. This is because a model normally represents an infinite number of possible cases, of which the observed cases are only a finite subset. The non-observed cases are inferred by postulating general rules covering both actual and potential observations.
For example, through two data points in a diagram you can always draw a straight line, and induce that all further observations will lie on that line. However, you could also draw an infinite variety of the most complicated curves passing through those same two points, and these curves would fit the empirical data just as well. Only Occam's razor would in this case guide you in choosing the "straight" (i.e. linear) relation as best candidate model. A similar reasoning can be made for n data points lying in any kind of distribution.
Occam's razor is especially important for universal models such as the ones developed in General Systems Theory, mathematics or philosophy, because there the subject domain is of an unlimited complexity. If one starts with too complicated foundations for a theory that potentially encompasses the universe, the chances of getting any manageable model are very slim indeed. Moreover, the principle is sometimes the only remaining guideline when entering domains of such a high level of abstraction that no concrete tests or observations can decide between rival models. In mathematical modelling of systems, the principle can be made more concrete in the form of the principle of uncertainty maximization: from your data, induce that model which minimizes the number of additional assumptions.
This principle is part of epistemology, and can be motivated by the requirement of maximal simplicity of cognitive models. However, its significance might be extended to metaphysics if it is interpreted as saying that simpler models are more likely to be correct than complex ones, in other words, that "nature" prefers simplicity.
One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything
by onomiyaki July 10, 2005
Get the Occam's razor mug.Well, as a student at RHS, I can tell you that it is a school full of pompous druggie wiggers who like Lacrosse, but not nearly as much as drinking and doing drugs. I can't stand about 80% of the people I am stuck with there for 6 fucking hours a day, and all the girls are little sluts, too. It's annoying as fuck.
The kids have 0 respect for the teachers in a lot of cases, and are so liberal that they make MLK look racist. We also have a couple retarded inept teachers who are tenured or something, because they're idiots but they're still teaching.
The bathrooms smell like pot, too. Once I even saw smoke curling around the lights. There's also a billion of those little packets of chewing tobacco or dip or whatever the hell it is all over the school. In the locker room, there's one stuck to the wall that's been there for like 3 months now, and in the water fountains, the pricks always spit them out, so when I go to drink, there's this vile packet of shit 2 inches from my face. Radnor sucks because of the douchebags that constitute the place. If I were the principle, we'd probably have like 300 kids, tops. Not the 1200 future Jersey Shore stars we have now.
The kids have 0 respect for the teachers in a lot of cases, and are so liberal that they make MLK look racist. We also have a couple retarded inept teachers who are tenured or something, because they're idiots but they're still teaching.
The bathrooms smell like pot, too. Once I even saw smoke curling around the lights. There's also a billion of those little packets of chewing tobacco or dip or whatever the hell it is all over the school. In the locker room, there's one stuck to the wall that's been there for like 3 months now, and in the water fountains, the pricks always spit them out, so when I go to drink, there's this vile packet of shit 2 inches from my face. Radnor sucks because of the douchebags that constitute the place. If I were the principle, we'd probably have like 300 kids, tops. Not the 1200 future Jersey Shore stars we have now.
I'd rather drag my nuts through a desert of broken, molten glass than spend another year at Radnor High.
by I piss in the mainstream. November 29, 2011
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