Occam's Razor
When choosing between explanations of phenomena the one with least assumptions is best. Occam's razor is a common meme in the self-proclaimed as well as certified scientific community, but while it is almost entirely taken as obvious doctrine without question it remains only an aesthetic heuristic. Simpler explanations are just more pleasing and also far easier to wrap one's head around—at least that's what we believe. There are obvious counters to the assumption that simplicity of abstract explanation is best, but it is clear that the razor is not so simple. Occam's razor is not against complexity as such, it is merely against unnecessary complexity. The question of what is necessary, however, is really what Occam's razor really comes down to. The formula of parsimony itself does not tell us what we are to count as necessary complexity or not. It is often the case that we simply assume that necessary complexity is found by not making logical leaps from what is ...
