Elon's Razor

A princple stating that:

When examining any given anonymous post on the internet that sings the praises of (Elon Musk's) incomparable genius and contribution to the progress of the human race, it is impossible to determine whether the post was made by a high school freshman, or a divorcee in their late thirties.

"Elon Musk" can be substituted with any silicon Valley con-man.

"I swear, these crypto bros all sound like they're only 15, but half the time when I go to their profile, they're balding."

"Elon's Razor, man."

by ThirdWelles December 6, 2022

Wallace's Razor

Never attribute to a conspiracy what could be attributed to inefficient bureaucracy. Conspiracy theories are generally fueled by people trying to make sense of the unexplained. People who have not been a part of really large organizations overestimate the level of internal coordination that actually happens. Generally, they are too slow moving to accmplish big complex things quickly and quietly. This mostly applies to "Enemy Above" type conspiracies. In short, the government or other large organizations is rarely competent enough to pull of a large conspiracy, and almost definitely could not keep it a secret - it probably just moves slow.

Related to Hanlon's razor (Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity), but more focused on whether conspiracy theories are true. It was penned by Jamie Wallace (@jamiemw) in 2023 to after 20+ years of working in large organizations.

Wallace's Razor would explain why Pearl Harbor happened, the bureaucracy of the Navy prevented signals intel from getting to the right sources in time, it wasn't that FDR just wanted an excuse for war.

by Razor Author March 31, 2023

Hollaway's Razor

The harder the media pushes a story, the more you should look away for what they aren't telling you.

A: Do you think JFK was assassinated by a lone gunman?

B: nah, Hollaway's razor

by maxxmane March 31, 2023

Hanlon's Razor

Logical fallacy around the mantra “Never assume malice when stupidity will suffice”.
In reality, acting like “Whoops, sorry! Stoopid me!”, so the victim is willing to forgive you for longer, is the oldest trick in the book of evil.
Mostly used by anxious sheltered people when overwhelmed by reality .
Not necessarily wrong. But not necessarily right *either*. There simply is no rational basis for it. It is useless. Its false sense of security can itself be harmful again. Purely exists as a coping fantasy. Same thing as conspiracy theorists (−1) , but with an opposite polarity (+1).
Risen in popularity in late 2010s, due to an anxiety epidemic in young people caused by over-sheltering parents, for-profit fear media, over-prescription abuse, and several bad events (pandemic, wars, …).

The real way to tell evil from stupid is:
*Evil has a goal*. Its actions *converge* towards that.
Stupid is incompetent. Its actions *diverge* (into chaos).
Catch 1: Stupid people can *still* be useful pawns for evil people, and follow them. (See example.)
Catch 2: There doesn’t *have* to be an evil person. It may be emergent behavior in a group. (Proof: Your body’s cells aren’t smart. Yet together they can act smart.)
Usually it’s more complex, but that’s the gist.

In the end, stupid is already harmful. It wastes resources and slows advancement down. That is evil.
While evil is already stupid. As teamwork (being nice) is clearly an evolutionary advantage.

Leader figure A: Evil (scapegoat group B) are invading our (group A), destroying our (values) and taking our (valuables)! = Evil. Goal: Power
Group B, Pawn 2: Durk urr durr! Kill all (group B)! =Stupid. Goal: Whatever dear leader A says.
Group A, Anxious traumatized person 3: OMG, (group B) is destroying our (group A)! They are evil! Hyper-focused on anything remotely similar to the previous trauma: “It *must* be real!” Goal: Safety through avoidance.
Group A, Anxious *black-eyed* person 4: Calm down, it’s just Hanlon's Razor! Everything is fine. Nothing to see here, move on. Hyper-focused on anything remotely similar to the previous *safe space*: “It CAN’T be real!” Goal: Safety through ignorance.

(As you can see, everyone in this example is wrong, and merely driven by their anxiety, clinging to what they grew up with that seemingly lets them handle reality.)

by Evi1M4chine April 3, 2023

McTernan’s Razor

The simplest solution is the opposite of what John says.

Mate, how do I make an accurate prediction? Just use McTernan’s razor.

by Schist & Hornblende July 19, 2023

occamom's razor

Occamom's razor

1st def: Not a "problem-solving" principle that, when Wife/Mom presented with competing hypothetical answers to a problem, The Wife/Mom will select the one situation that makes the most assumptions, and will always cause collateral anxiety and illogical responses for everyone except the Mom/Wife.

2nd def: The most complex reaction to a simple situation... is what it is ...period

Background : Our kids and I , have a wonderful Wife/Mom, We are so fortunate ....But, all three of us get a kick out of the least likely situation to be the one that never (statistically ) ever happens .

I welcome any help on articulating this better :) Im sure everyone has experienced this.. thank you for your consideration

Using Occamom's razor,: My Wife when asked if our 12 and 13 year old daughters could walk around the block of our extremely safe neighborhood . She said no thinking that they would get get kidnapped by a suspicious white van she saw the last week .

I welcome any help on articulating this better :) Im sure everyone has experienced this.. thank you for your consideration

by Borninabarn July 30, 2023

Cramer's Razor

The correct answer is the opposite of whatever was just said. A principle created from the observation of former hedge fund manager and finance commentator Jim Cramer's history of investment advice; where the opposite of whatever is recommended was almost always the best option.

Investment Bro: Cramer was on tv today saying Florba-Skipp is a failing company and to sell immediately.

Financial Planner: Cramer's Razor...
Investment Bro: Dump everything into FBSK immediately

by Ecclesies August 9, 2023