Occam's Razor

No this is not a razor brand like Gilette or Wilkinson Sword....

William of Occam was one of the most significant philosopher and theologist of the late scholastics. One of his famous ideas is called "Occam's Razor" or "law of parsimony". This principle says if you are facing a problem for which you have competing theories one should choose the explanation with the fewest assumptions. Now, this could be translated into:

If you have many hypotheses or theories for one problem choose the simplest explanation.

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I found this practice very helpful, especially if I have been working a long time on a problem.

I also realised that I fool myself into thinking a solution is far more complicated than it really is. This way I can create a place for myself to hide and a "good" reason not to act.

The next time you are facing a challenge or trying to figure something out it might be worth thinking about Occam.

P.S. : Go and google "William of Ockham". This man had a very funny hairstyle which I bet he achieved using a razor.