{"id":126669,"date":"2024-12-26T12:40:21","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T17:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126669"},"modified":"2024-12-26T12:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T17:41:13","slug":"doctor-curmudgeon-the-principle-of-parsimony-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126669","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Curmudgeon The Principle of Parsimony"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126669\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126669\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-126670 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/220px-Woodcut_illustration_of_Hortensia_pleading_her_case_before_the_triumvirs_-_Penn_Provenance_Project.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"182\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>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<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Principle of Parsimony is better known to most of us as Occam\u2019s Razor, a problem-solving technique advocating that the simplest explanation is usually the better one.<br \/>\nIf you are presented with two hypotheses or explanations for something, don\u2019t confuse your brain. Just look at the one that has the fewest conjectures.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cplurality must never be posited without necessity.\u201d <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>We all know that one size does not fit all. And, of course, it\u2019s true of Occam\u2019s Razor. It is so easy to overgeneralize.<\/p>\n<p>Even Albert Einstein acknowledged that \u201ceverything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Occam wasn\u2019t the originator of this maxim. Some years before Occam, Aristotle, born in 384 BC commented that \u201cOther things being equal, we should prefer a demonstration which derives from fewer postulates or hypotheses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Using Occam\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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, \u201crazor.\u201d It appears that the social media of the time coined the term \u201crazor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Occam\u2019s Razor is not some kind of law, but an excellent tool to help us slice through complex problems.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>If you have ever served in the military you may be aware of the acronym, \u201cKISS\u201d which stands for \u201cKeep it simple, stupid.\u201d It refers to keeping plans simple to ensure their ease of execution and effectiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Occam\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Curmudgeon suggests &#8220;Bitter Medicine\u201d, Dr. Eugene Eisman&#8217;s story of his experiences&#8211;from the humorous to the intense&#8212;as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.<br \/>\nBitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. &#8211;on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Bitter-Medicine-Doctors-Year-Vietnam\/dp\/0615874347\">Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Doctor Curmudgeon\u00ae is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.<br \/>\nSERMO <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sermo.com\">www.sermo.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F126669\" data-token=\"201e7a18895d13754140dece89c9da62\" data-token-time=\"1775447232\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Email Message Comment<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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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\u2019s Razor, a problem-solving technique advocating that the simplest explanation is usually the better one. If you are presented [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32574],"class_list":["post-126669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-doctor-curmudgeon-the-principle-of-parsimony"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126669"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}