What does occam's razor mean?

Definitions for occam's razor
oc·cam's ra·zor

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word occam's razor.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Occam's Razor, Ockham's Razor, principle of parsimony, law of parsimonynoun

    the principle that entities should not be multiplied needlessly; the simplest of two competing theories is to be preferred

Wikipedia

  1. Occam's razor

    Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor (Latin: novacula Occami) in philosophy is the problem-solving principle that recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible set of elements. It is also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony (Latin: lex parsimoniae). Attributed to William of Ockham, a 14th-century English philosopher and theologian, it is frequently cited as Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, which translates as "Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity", although Occam never used these exact words. Popularly, the principle is sometimes paraphrased incorrectly as "The simplest explanation is usually the best one."This philosophical razor advocates that when presented with competing hypotheses about the same prediction, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions, and that this is not meant to be a way of choosing between hypotheses that make different predictions. Similarly, in science, Occam's razor is used as an abductive heuristic in the development of theoretical models rather than as a rigorous arbiter between candidate models.In the scientific method, Occam's razor is not considered an irrefutable principle of logic or a scientific result; the preference for simplicity in the scientific method is based on the falsifiability criterion. For each accepted explanation of a phenomenon, there may be an extremely large, perhaps even incomprehensible, number of possible and more complex alternatives. Since failing explanations can always be burdened with ad hoc hypotheses to prevent them from being falsified, simpler theories are preferable to more complex ones because they tend to be more testable.

ChatGPT

  1. occam's razor

    Occam's Razor is a philosophical principle named after the medieval English philosopher William of Ockham. Essentially, it states that the simplest explanation, or the one that requires the fewest assumptions, is usually the best or most accurate one. It is often used in problem-solving or theoretical situations where multiple theories or hypotheses could potentially explain a particular phenomenon. It stresses the idea that simplicity should be preferred over complexity in formulating hypotheses, theories, and steps in decision-making processes.

Wikidata

  1. Occam's razor

    Occam's razor is a principle of parsimony, economy, or succinctness used in logic and problem-solving. It states that among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of occam's razor in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of occam's razor in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6


Translations for occam's razor

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • الحلاقة أوكامArabic
  • La navaja de OccamSpanish
  • ओटम का उस्तराHindi
  • オッカムの剃刀Japanese
  • occam의 면도기Korean
  • occam இன் ரேஸர்Tamil

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"occam's razor." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/occam%27s+razor>.

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