![]() Ptolemy, who lived 1,200 years before William of Ockham, wrote about the importance of choosing the simplest possible hypothesis. Occam’s Razor is named after him, but the mental model itself had already been around. He fled his home in 1327 and for the last 20 years of his life, led a simple existence of wandering with a group of friars. Though simple in his time, this got him in trouble with the Church, who considered him a heretic for challenging overly complicated doctrines in light of simpler ideas about the laws of the universe. This principle, now called Occam’s Razor, can be stated simply: The simplest solution is correct. In Latin (since he wrote and taught in Latin), it’s called lex parsimoniae, which means the law of briefness. He led a simple life: Despite studying theology at the University of Oxford, he taught his own kind of philosophy based on logic, revolving around the principle he has become famous for. He didn’t have the scientific method to work with as a mental model, like later innovators of the Renaissance some 100 years later. William of Ockham was an English Franciscan friar who lived in the early 1300s. What Is Occam’s Razor and Why Is It True? Occam’s Razor is all about why simpler is better and how seeking simplicity is a sure way to make better decisions. ![]() ![]() This is related to the mental model we’ll be covering today. So far, we’ve learned about two important mental models, and from yesterday’s lesson, we know why we can trust that covering only a few of the best models is enough to get us a high appreciation of the topic. Episode #4 of the course Mental models: How to make better decisions by John Robin ![]()
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