Leo Marvin
12-31-2007, 11:24 PM
Hi,
I arrived here via a Google search for a logic forum. I have a question, but it's not obvious to me whether this forum is even set up to respond to unsolicited questions. If it isn't, I guess that will become obvious by the deafening silence. Hoping it's OK, here it is: Is there any valid logical or empirical basis for Occam's razor? I routinely rely on it to dismiss my friends' latest conspiracy theories, but only insofar as telling them I find Occam's razor more convincing than their loosely hinged fantasies. What I'd prefer to say if it were true is that Occam's razor serves as some kind of logical rebuttal to their unlikely hypotheses.
Sorry for the length of such a simple question, but paraphrasing I think Oliver Wendell Holmes:confused: , I didn't have time to write a shorter one. Thanks for your time and help.
Leo
I arrived here via a Google search for a logic forum. I have a question, but it's not obvious to me whether this forum is even set up to respond to unsolicited questions. If it isn't, I guess that will become obvious by the deafening silence. Hoping it's OK, here it is: Is there any valid logical or empirical basis for Occam's razor? I routinely rely on it to dismiss my friends' latest conspiracy theories, but only insofar as telling them I find Occam's razor more convincing than their loosely hinged fantasies. What I'd prefer to say if it were true is that Occam's razor serves as some kind of logical rebuttal to their unlikely hypotheses.
Sorry for the length of such a simple question, but paraphrasing I think Oliver Wendell Holmes:confused: , I didn't have time to write a shorter one. Thanks for your time and help.
Leo