Occam’s Razor
The elegance and risk of simplicity.
In the 1997 film “Contact,” a critical scene features Dr. Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) and Palmer Joss (played by Matthew McConaughey). Ellie, a scientist, is determined to find alien communication. Palmer, a religious philosopher, has different beliefs. Their conversation focuses on Occam’s Razor, a key idea Ellie brings up.
Dr. Ellie Arroway:
Occam’s Razor, you ever heard of it?
Palmer Joss:
Hackem’s Razor, sounds like some slasher movie!
Dr. Ellie Arroway:
No, Occam’s Razor, it’s a basic scientific principle. And it says, all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.
Palmer Joss:
Make sense to me.
Dr. Ellie Arroway:
Alright. So what’s more likely … an all powerful and mysterious God created the Universe, and then decided not to give any proof of his existence, or that he simply doesn’t exist at all, and that we created him so that we didn’t have to feel so small and alone?
Palmer Joss:
I don’t know. I couldn’t imagine living in a world where God didn’t exist. I wouldn’t want to.
Occam’s Razor dates back to the 14th century. It emphasizes favoring the simplest explanation — the answer with the fewest assumptions often tends to be correct. Think of it as a mental shortcut promoting efficiency, “less is often more” when explaining things. Why “razor”? It gets its name from the principle’s ability to cut away competing solutions, leaving the simplest — and supposedly most likely — explanation behind. By metaphorically shaving away overly complex theories, Occam’s Razor helps us focus on the most straightforward option.
During their conversation in “Contact,” Ellie relies on Occam’s Razor to challenge Palmer’s faith. Ellie presents two possibilities; a powerful, hidden God, or simply no God at all. Believing in a God necessitates several assumptions — an existence, creation of the universe, and a deliberate lack of evidence. The simpler explanation, according to Occam’s Razor, is that there is no God and humanity created the concept as a way to cope with feeling insignificant. Unconvinced, Palmer prioritizes the meaning and purpose his faith provides even if it requires a complex explanation.
Occam’s razor is a heuristic, a rule of thumb to suggest which hypothesis is most likely to be true. It doesn’t prove or disprove, it simply leads you down the path that’s most likely to be correct. Take for example, if you are trying to figure out why your car won’t start, instead of jumping to conclusions about complex engine malfunctions, you’d likely begin by examining the simplest and most common explanations, such as a dead battery or a loose wire.
The Mirage of Simplicity
The fascination with Occam’s Razor stems from its elegance and practicality. It resonates with our natural desire for straightforward answers and avoids unnecessary complications. Embraced by prominent thinkers across various disciplines for centuries, reinforces its legitimacy and enduring appeal. Yet, conflating simple with correct, or easy, can be dangerous.
If a doctor is examining a patient with high fever and cough, they may settle on the simplest explanation; the patient has a cold. But without examining the all evidence, symptoms that reveal possible infections, allergic reactions, or other life-threatening conditions, may be missed.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler”
— Albert Einstein.
Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA’s structure, saw a limitation in Occam’s Razor for biology. Darwinian evolution, and its elaborate natural selection process, better explains life through fossils and genetics, compared to a simple divine creation story. This intricacy isn’t random — it reflects the gradual accumulation of advantageous traits over vast stretches of time. Embracing this complexity allows us to unlock a deeper understanding of life’s history, even if the underlying mechanisms of natural selection themselves might sometimes be elegantly simple.
Life has many moving parts, and true progress relies on curiosity and a drive for exploration. If a complex theory is better with evidence at hand then adopting complexity is crucial. A sole focus on simple solutions can breed confirmation bias, resulting in us seeking information that confirms our existing beliefs. Ultimately, an approach that prioritizes empirical evidence over the appeal of simple explanations should be the deciding factor.
References
Duignan, Brian. “Occam’s Razor”. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Alan Baker (2010) [2004]. “Simplicity”. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. California: Stanford University.
Roger Ariew, Ockham’s Razor: A Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Ockham’s Principle of Parsimony, 1976
Crick, Francis H. C. (1988). What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery. New York, New York.
