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practical example of Occam's Razor

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What is Ockham's Razor? Give three instances where it may be advantageously applied in life and explained why.

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A practical example of Occam's Razor is provided.

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What is Ockham's Razor? Give three instances where it may be advantageously applied in life and explained why.

Response: Ockham's Razor is a logical approach to making a sound decision. This philosophical principle is attributed to the 14th century monk William of Ockham (sometimes spelled "Occam"). Essentially, he stated that any hypothesis that is designed to explain phenomena should make as few assumptions as possible. The "razor" aspect comes into it when we think of what we do when developing an hypothesis. We want to "shave off with a razor" all superfluous ideas and all thoughts which make no difference in the observable predictions of the hypothesis. In other words, when we are given two equally valid hypotheses, we should choose the less complicated ...

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