Occam's Razor Explained

A simple explanation of Occam's Razor with a couple of examples to help you grasp this mental model.

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[entropie]

You made the important distinction of using Occam's Razor once you've gathered all facts and evidence and not before. People tend to jump to the simplest conclusion being the correct one without having all the data in hand. Very good to include.

[TheOGMattBurns]

I've tried to explain this to people but wasn't as successful as you were here. Thank you.

[chrischamberlaine]

Years ago I worked for a naval architect who designed racing yachts which is a pretty fast moving science wrapped in a lot of mythology and misinformation. Alan taught me about Occams's razor. His first question on any project was 'What do we know? Often we discovered that we did not know very much because new technology had arrived or something had changed. What this enabled us to do was find a starting point - a baseline - from which to build the new project from facts. Even today people still say I must have learned so much from this humble genius. No. Only one thing, I always respond. How to think.

[dsbennett]

The most irritating part about Occam's Razor is its name when you don't know what it is. Thank you for an excellent explanation.

[janrajnoch]

Great, simple, and clear explanation!

[novelidea]

great stuff! such a concise explanation of Occam's Razor. Thank you!

[EDHBry]

Excellent explanation, and somewhat using the theory itself. You taught this very well, from various angles both positive and negative and easily understood in less than 6 minutes!

[Joshua-sdcb]

This was fantastic!! I didn’t want it to end 😭😭😭

[christopherreisner]

Best explanation I've seen. Clear and complete. Thanks.

[johnhenrey]

Wow, that looks incredible! You've done a great job on the project. Keep up the great work and let us know if you need any help!

[m.nishi.m]

Something that I learned today - Occam's razor states "Do not multiply entities beyond necessity" which says nothing about simplicity, hence the razor is misconstrued. It talks about unnecessary complexity being superfluous

[nidhishetty]

Beautifully explained. Thanks a lot was the entire explanation. This was really insightful

[giancarlomaldonado]

That is a nice, clear, and precise explanation. Thanks!

[evgenigeorgiev]

This is a nice concept, thank you for sharing.

[danzak]

Thank you for the best explanation of this and of its history. Also, I'm a photographer and I love your lighting in this video!

[owenchapman]

I thought the theory correctly stated is not that the simplest explanation is the best one BUT rather that the simplest explanation is the one most likely to be believed irrespective of its truth or otherwise.

[cybercamp]

I sometimes think of this concept as
Occam’s “funnel” a series of narrowing funnels
Rather than cutting chances in half or quarter…
Life is a random set of cascading channels 🙏🏻

[juancervantes]

Mr. Gastin, I am an avid student of the Assassination of President John F
Kennedy. I am NOT an expert however I would say that through all my studies I have learned more than the average person on the street. With that being said how can Occam's Razor be used in solving the Kennedy Assassination. I believe that I have a pretty good idea what really happened however I do not know for sure. Your expert feedback would be invaluable. Thank You.

[SaleemRanaAuthor]

I didn't know the interesting back story. I always assumed Willam had originated it. By the way, this happens to be my favorite razor. I have been shaving questionable dogma with it for years after I discovered it in a philosophy book. My favorite videos are those where you explain a thinking framework. I still use Smart Notes and OODA loops which you recommended many moons ago. It would be wonderful if you created a regular flow of these bite-sized, eloquently described cognitive tools.

[lukose]

Well explained with a simple explanation . I think the reason humans go for the simpler explanation in some situations, example-- a frightening situation, is because we are created by a God who cares about us and wants us to keep things simple so that we may flourish .