What does the "razor" in Ockham's Razor mean?

AI Overview The "razor" in Occam's Razor refers to a tool for "shaving away" unnecessary complexities, assumptions, or entities from competing explanations, leaving the simplest, most plausible one as the preferred hypothesis, much like a razor shaves hair. It's a philosophical principle (law of parsimony) that says entities shouldn't be multiplied beyond necessity, meaning if two theories explain something equally well, the one with fewer assumptions is better. Key Meanings of the "Razor": Shaving off Assumptions: The core idea is to cut away extra, unsupported elements from a theory, like shaving unwanted hair. Simplification: It's a heuristic (rule of thumb) to prefer simpler explanations over complex ones, not because simple is always true, but because it's a better starting point for investigation. Elimination: Think of it as a logical instrument that helps eliminate unlikely possibilities or superfluous details in a given scenario. Example: If you hear hoofbeats, Occam's Razor suggests thinking "horses" (simpler, more common) before "zebras" (more complex, less likely), unless you have evidence otherwise. OCCAM'S RAZOR Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster × Advertising / | 00:00 / 01:54. | Skip. Listen on. Privacy Policy. Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. Occam's razor. Merriam-Webs... Merriam-Webster

Occam's Razor - Definition and examples - Conceptually

Definition and explanation. If Occam's razor brings to mind images of stubbled gentlemen and shaving cream, you're not actually th...

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The origin and popular use of Occam's razor - AAAS

Occam's razor is used as a heuristic, or "rule of thumb" to guide scientists in developing theoretical models. The term "razor" re... American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)