Exploring the sugar-cancer link
It comes as no surprise that lay people prefer simpler explanations, as they are easier to understand
7th May 2015
Occam's, or Ockham's, razor is a problem-solving principle devised by the English Franciscan friar and philosopher William of Ockham (c.1287-1347).
Essentially it means that, among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. Brother William was addressing a specific context — philosophers arguing against metaphysical theories with "superfluous ontological apparatus".
How is mediaeval metaphysics relevant to modern science, you might ask? Today, scientists employ Occam's razor as a tool to guide development of theoretical models they create to