For simplicity, Occam’s razor is often cited as “choose the simplest hypothesis” even when it’s more appropriate to employ its original definition as the principle that one should favor the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions.
I agree that less_schlong shouldn’t be citing Occam’s razor as some fundamental law of the universe, but I do think it’s obvious that all things being equal, we should attempt to minimize speculative assumptions.
For simplicity, Occam’s razor is often cited as “choose the simplest hypothesis” even when it’s more appropriate to employ its original definition as the principle that one should favor the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions.
I agree that less_schlong shouldn’t be citing Occam’s razor as some fundamental law of the universe, but I do think it’s obvious that all things being equal, we should attempt to minimize speculative assumptions.