If you know what occam’s razor is, you can skip this paragraph. According to Wikipedia, Occam’s razor states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory.
For Skeptics, occam’s razor has become analogous to a religion. It has a sensible core concept but over time it has morphed into the irrational belief that “the simplest explanation is usually correct” in all sorts of contexts where it just isn’t true.
For example, if you were arguing that millions of people have been abducted by aliens, and you had several theories for why no physical evidence has ever been found, the skeptic would bring up occam’s razor. “The simplest explanation is that those people are lying and/or deluded.” The skeptic would be right in this case, but a lucky rabbit’s foot appears to work sometimes too. The problem is not that occam’s razor works; the problem is that it APPEARS to work in EVERY case, even for people with opposite theories.
I call this problem Adams’ razor, and it goes like this: “The explanation that you believe is correct will always seem simplest to you.”
Or to put it another way, the simplest explanation is usually the one provided by the person with the least understanding of the situation. If you don’t believe me, the next time your TV doesn’t work, ask an engineer for his theory and then ask an art major.
Let’s test Adams’ razor with a simple question to get you going:
Why did the United States attack and occupy Iraq?
Your task is to answer that question in the simplest way, preferably one sentence. What you will learn is that every one of you thinks your explanation is the simplest.
Or if you prefer, you may also explain why occam’s razor really does work well when used in its proper scientific context, as if that is rebutting my point.