Doctor Curmudgeon The Principle of Parsimony
By Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D. FAAP Doctor Eisman is in Family Practice in Aventura, Florida with her partner, Dr. Eugene Eisman, an internist/cardiologist
The Principle of Parsimony is better known to most of us as Occam’s Razor, a problem-solving technique advocating that the simplest explanation is usually the better one.
If you are presented with two hypotheses or explanations for something, don’t confuse your brain. Just look at the one that has the fewest conjectures.
Keep in mind that each hypothesis needs to be supported by all the available evidence, and then the one with the fewest variables is most likely to be correct. Occam wrote that “plurality must never be posited without necessity.”
We all know that one size does not fit all. And, of course, it’s true of Occam’s Razor. It is so easy to overgeneralize.
Even Albert Einstein acknowledged that “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Who was this Occam of Razor fame? Well, he was a philosopher and Franciscan friar. His given name was William of Ockham, and he was born a few years ago, in AD 1285.
Occam wasn’t the originator of this maxim. Some years before Occam, Aristotle, born in 384 BC commented that “Other things being equal, we should prefer a demonstration which derives from fewer postulates or hypotheses.”
Using Occam’s Razor when you are faced with two different possibilities does not guarantee the truth of the simplest explanation, but it does motivate you to minimize unnecessary complications.
Why, on earth, did Occam get his name attached to this principle? It appears that he used it so frequently that it became well-known. And razor? Where does that come in? His hypothesis urged cutting away unnecessary complexities. Occam himself did not create the term, “razor.” It appears that the social media of the time coined the term “razor.”
Occam’s Razor is not some kind of law, but an excellent tool to help us slice through complex problems.
For example, I have lost my keys. What could have happened? I find myself with two hypotheses. Either I misplaced them or an entity from another planet had slithered under the door and stolen them as a keep sake from Earth. Occam would lead me to the solution that I had simply misplaced my keys.
If you have ever served in the military you may be aware of the acronym, “KISS” which stands for “Keep it simple, stupid.” It refers to keeping plans simple to ensure their ease of execution and effectiveness.
Occam’s Razor would likely endorse the old saying that when you hear hoof beats, think of horses rather than zebras. After all, horses are more common, and thus a simpler explanation for the sound of hoof beats.
Dr. Curmudgeon suggests “Bitter Medicine”, Dr. Eugene Eisman’s story of his experiences–from the humorous to the intense—as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.
Bitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. –on Amazon
Doctor Curmudgeon® is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.
SERMO www.sermo.com
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