William of Ockham is the medieval philosopher who gave us what is perhaps the world’s only metaphysical knife. Raised by Franciscan friars and educated at Oxford in the late 13th century, he focused ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

Philosophy, in simple terms, is the quest for knowledge; the pursuit of wisdom. Sometimes referred to as the “mother of all science,” every endeavor that requires logic and reasoning could use the aid ...

Occam's razor -- the principle that, when faced with competing explanations, we should choose the simplest that fits the facts -- is not just a tool of science. Occam's razor is science, insists a ...

Occam’s Razor suggests that when considering two competing theories or explanations, you should prefer the simpler one over the more complex one (pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate, or ...

Regarding Andrew Crumey’s review of “Life Is Simple” (Books, Oct. 9): Occam’s razor has wide applicability to the practice of medicine. The simplest and most logical diagnosis is usually correct. This ...

Libertarian commentator Dave Rubin appeared on Newsmax Friday night and offered a definition of Occam’s razor that was actually Murphy’s Law. Host John Bachman had been musing as to whether the Biden ...

Every college philosophy major knows about Ockham’s razor—the dictum that if you’ve got two hypotheses you should go with the one that makes the fewest number of assumptions. A common short-cut to ...

Investors can forget the “death cross,” “bearish divergences” and “symmetrical triangles,” and what the Federal Reserve says it will do about interest rates, and just focus on Occam’s razor: The S&P ...