Lee Merkel wrote:
>> SW wrote:
>> > Occam's Razor is merely the way any problem or mystery should be
> > approached. With common sense logic and without a vested interest in
> > what the solution 'should' be.
> >
> > Stephen Walsh
>> Inherent in Occam's razor is the fact that it WILL be wrong
> with a varying ratio, depending on the nature of the subject
> being studied.
Only if you take the extreme view. The last word of Occam's Razor is
important:
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
Or the last three words in the English translation: "Entities should not
be multiplied more than necessary". It's not "take the least number of
entities", it's "take the least number of *necessary* entities."
Pete
(With thanks to http://burks.bton.ac.uk/burks/foldoc/89/64.htm for the
original and HotBot for finding it quickly).
--
http://sa1.star.uclan.ac.uk/~prn
Happy is he who has been able to learn the causes of things - Virgil