Occams Razor Flashcards
What is parsimony often referred to as?
Occam’s Razor
Who is the principle of parsimony named after?
William of Ockham
What does Occam’s Razor suggest about competing hypotheses?
The one with the fewest assumptions should be selected
What is the Latin phrase associated with Ockham’s principle?
Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
What does the principle of parsimony advocate for in explanations?
Choosing the simplest explanation that accounts for all observed phenomena
What does parsimony discourage in theory or model development?
Adding unnecessary complexity or assumptions
Is Occam’s Razor a strict rule?
No, it is a heuristic, not a law
How do scientists use parsimony in hypothesis formation?
To prioritize simpler and more testable hypotheses
What model did Copernicus and Galileo favor due to its simplicity?
The heliocentric model of the solar system
In which fields is parsimony used to develop models that balance explanatory power with simplicity?
Physics, biology, and economics
What are Newton’s laws of motion an example of?
Parsimonious yet powerful explanations in physics
How is parsimony applied in evolutionary biology?
To construct evolutionary trees requiring the fewest changes
What does parsimony reflect in modern data science?
The preference for simpler models that generalize well to new data
What technique in machine learning incorporates Occam’s Razor?
Regularization
What philosophical debates has parsimony shaped?
Scientific realism and anti-realism
What is a criticism of parsimony?
Simpler explanations are not always correct
Can overly simplistic models overlook important complexities?
Yes
What major theory is more complex than Newtonian mechanics but provides a more accurate description of gravity?
Einstein’s theory of general relativity
What was a driving factor in the Copernican Revolution?
The simplicity of the heliocentric model
What did Darwin’s theory of evolution provide compared to previous theories?
A simpler and more powerful explanation for biodiversity
What does the comparison of quantum mechanics and classical physics illustrate about parsimony?
Parsimony must sometimes yield to empirical evidence
What is the overall conclusion regarding parsimony in science?
It encourages simplicity and minimizes unnecessary assumptions
What must the application of parsimony be balanced with?
Empirical evidence
Fill in the blank: Parsimony serves as a valuable _______ for hypothesis selection.
[heuristic]
