Occams Razor is not a valid concept

To me this so called law seems to be a hiding place for debunkers. "Always take the easiest way out". If the US had of applied Occams Razor when Bill Clinton was porking Monica the conversation would have been "Why would he do that? Why would he risk everything like that? It can't be true, she must be after something and is trying to blackmail him" (Like a lot of the conversation was). Why not investigate with an open mind and find out the truth?

Your comments would be appreciated (I hope you can prove me wrong and clarify)

The usage of "Occams Razor" should be taken on a case by case basis.

btw - why is this in Aliens & UFO's?

You may be mis-interpreting the concept. The concept would have you find that W. Clinton was simply a horn dog and Monica less than discreet.

The simplest solution, without inventing other solutions.

Mr Penny, it is easy to apply after the event has played out, ehh?

Its going to depend on the context of the scenario. If it is overly complex, and there is a much more simple explanation, that doesn't necessarily mean the most simple one is true, but it certainly casts doubt on the validity of the more complex assertion.

Alone, it cannot count for much, I agree and is probably used far too often by some people (Occam, after all, was never the target of a conspiracy, and the world is far from simple at times), however, its still a criticism that should be kept in mind.

I get the sense some don't really understand the concept.

Here is a reasonable description of the idea:

Occam's Razor

never mind

I had an anti razor that cancelled Occam in my sig for a while. I forgot that I had changed it.

carry on

[edit on 11/5/07 by shadow watcher]

occams razor is not a all-in-one do-it-all swiss army knife. it has specific purposes, and is not to be used to determine the reason a certain course of political events happened.

Originally posted by MrPenny
You may be mis-interpreting the concept. The concept would have you find that W. Clinton was simply a horn dog and Monica less than discreet.

The simplest solution, without inventing other solutions.

Hahahahaaaa..... some people can't seem to keep it in their pants, I am sure he is not the only one, pity the people in power.
____________________________

Occams razor isn't a law at all, I think it is more like a guildline, it does say the simplest solution tends to be the best one, not must be.

If our Allies had of applied Occams Razor every time they got a peice of information we'd be speaking either Japanese or German at the moment. I think it is code for "Well my theory is......insert theory here, and because I used Occams Razor you can't argue anymore....."

You obviously do not understand the idea or intent behind Occam's razor which states:
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem... or
"entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity... or simplified (often wrongly) as:
"All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one." it is often referred to as the: lex parsimoniae ("law of parsimony" or "law of succinctness"):

William of Occam was responding to the increasingly elaborate scholastic philosophy of the time which rose out of Medieval Europe's rediscovery of Aristotle... philosophers such as John Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas had struggled with the problem as had Pierre Abélard... lesser philosophers had created such convoluted arguments that the old chestnut of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin was seriously considered. What William of Occam did was to provide a rule of thumb that allowed to cutting away of all that dross by essentially stating that the more elaborate the theory, the less likely it is to be true, and it still hows true but you are drawing false parallels from it... it is perfectly applicable for philosophy and science but to try and apply it to real life issues is more problematic... besides that it is not irreputable as you seem to suggest, merely, as has been said, a guideline not something carved in stone.

Mr Penny - Occam's Razor (or any razor) in the hands of Hilary might have had an interesting effect on Bill during the Monica incident....