What does principle of parsimony mean?

Definitions for principle of parsimony
prin·ci·ple of par·si·mo·ny

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word principle of parsimony.

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. principle of parsimony

    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 inaccurately paraphrased 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 prefer the one that requires 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. principle of parsimony

    The principle of parsimony, also known as Occam's razor, is a problem-solving principle that suggests the simplest explanation or solution among several plausible ones is often the correct one. In scientific research, it advises that one should avoid unnecessary assumptions or excessive complexity when forming hypotheses or theories. Essentially, it asserts that the explanation requiring the least speculation is generally better. However, it doesn't always mean the simplest solution is correct but encourages starting with simpler approaches and only adopting more complex ones if necessary.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of principle of parsimony in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of principle of parsimony in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1


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"principle of parsimony." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/principle+of+parsimony>.

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