Ockham's Razor / Occam's Razor / Principle of Simplicity

imprese di pulizia sms gratis in italiano franks foto angela cavagna tv new hex key paola pasquini fiat spa cartolina elettroniche compleanno pioneer vsx2014 jung opere giornali atrapani codici ricarica omnitel hudson terminal puerto cabello kiss dp1000 austen, jane bridget fonda losec 40mg iv 5 fl regge latino madonna spears hardisk sata ii palmare ufficio grassona universita di astrofisica unchain larghezza 40 cm rz 37lz30 ufficio cantu laser multifunzione minolta angel by my side borsa portatile escort mature ly hai viejo y viejas fotos desnudos gratis specializzarsi a milano grundig 20 lcd oakley xx black samsung 2 5 80 i beleive my heart never can say goodbye wwo custodia per videocamere hip seat nokiovo it fundacion de la paz tema svolto promessi sposi manga erotici scaricabili lab stay with me knocking on heave s door il mio sito nuda balada del pistolero virginio jtv calci di rigore liberatore shemale cumshot valutiamo singoli maxtor diamondmax 200gb punto 2002 ragazze ventenne ricetta dolce sardi guru abbigliamento franchising affettatrice 25 acciaio elettrostimolatori medical house whirlpool lavatrice 9100 frasi d amore in spagnolo air classic corsi regione campania midi file search scissor sisters laura quarantenni porche stradario bergamo citta ministero dell ambiente franco tellina mazter whigfield was a time fox uomo vivid 60 pro ex p600 concessionarie prato scarica canzoni in mp3 fiorellamannoia ragazze sole in viaggio con l arcangelo grazia multiculturalita chianciano terme hotel karaoke software home cinema harman kardon titoli canzoni anni 80 blu express maran ata prenotazione hotel dublino il poeta ilary blasi d g ray ban www paris it a 30 secondi dalla fine ddr pc3200 512mb cl2 5 tahuata thermaltake soprano middle tower www deskop it micro hifi sony codigo fama joseph cotten isola dei famosi video fotocopiatrice canon ir 1600 archivi humor nike air max silver 37 big clarece massimo ceccherini nouakchott yhea garrigue jean modem pci router ufficio voghera kettler vario viaggidel ventaglio alarme frosinone albergo madonna di campiglio frigorifero da cantina diana pictures wellbutrin online zanaflex online cheap zyban cheap fioricet cheap propecia free mtv ringtones lisinopril paxil free kyocera ringtones ultram online free mono ringtones didrex online hydrocodone online lorazepam polyphonic ringtones free verizon ringtones free nextel ringtones ambien online music ringtones free nokia ringtones free sonyericsson ringtones pharmacy online online free free ringtones vicodin online diazepam online alprazolam online ultracet online meridia flexeril online lortab online norco hoodia sagem ringtones nexium online soma cyclobenzaprine online zoloft online jazz ringtones free cingular ringtones motorola ringtones free midi ringtones carisoprodol cheap hgh free sony ringtones tramadol online phentermine albuterol online vigrx online free qwest ringtones diethylpropion free sprint ringtones free cool ringtones clomid online adipex levitra online xenical online sildenafil punk ringtones mp3 ringtones xanax online ativan prozac online celexa online ortho tenuate free samsung ringtones lipitor ericsson ringtones free sharp ringtones alltel ringtones valium free tracfone ringtones sony ericsson ringtones rivotril clonazepam online real ringtones cheap cialis cheap viagra free funny ringtones free wwe ringtones == Ockham's Razor ==

Biography

[Wikipedia, 2005]

William of Ockham (also spelled Occam) was living in the Middle Ages (ca. 1285–1349). He was born in England in a town called Ockham near Ripley, Surrey. William devoted to a life in extreme poverty and minimalism and lived as a Franciscan friar and philosopher. He became a pioneer of nominalism, the position in metaphysics, that there exist no “universals” outside of the mind. Besides he was theologian, an outstanding logician and concentrated on epistemology and modern philosophy in general. [Carroll, 2005]

In 1324 he was suspected of heresy by Pope John XXII and spent four years under house arrest while his teaching and writing were being investigated. During this time Ockham even concluded that the Pope was a heretic. After massive dissensions between the Franciscan order and the papacy William fled to Munich and sought the protection of Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria. He spent much of the remainder of his life writing about political issues, including the relative authority and rights of the spiritual and temporal powers. He died in a convent in Munich, Bavaria. [Hoffmann et al., 1997]

Definition

Though most of Ockham's principles are enrooted in philosophy, many approaches (especially the principle of Simplicity) can be found in the basics of design principles.

• Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs, the simplest design should be selected. Implicit in Ockham’s razor is the idea that unnecessary elements decrease a design’s efficiency, and increase the probability of unanticipated consequences. [Lidwell, 2004]

• When comparing technologies that perform the same function, a technology that is simpler in design will tend to be simpler to construct and repair, but will tend to require greater skill to use, whereas a technology that requires less skill to use will tend to be more complex in design and more complex to construct and repair. For example, a straight razor is relatively simple in design and construction, but requires considerable skill to use, whereas an electric razor is relatively complex in design and construction but requires little skill to use. [Omick, 2005]

---

Examples

Example 1:

This example shows two different types of data visualization after a series of measurements of a property y in its response to adjustment of a factor x, with following results:

Figure 1 - Some experimental measurements of a property y in response to variation of a factor x:

[Hoffmann et al., 1997]

Figure 2 - A straight line fitted through the data points of the Figure above:

[Hoffmann et al., 1997]

Figure 3 - An alternate fit of the same data points:

[Hoffmann et al., 1997]

Aside from some intuitive sense that it just seems right, the degrees of freedom of the fits could be a more scientific reason following the subjects of Ockham to prefer the visualization shown in figure 2. [Hoffmann et al., 1997]

Example 2:

One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.

Figure 4 shows three possible data sets. According to Ockham's principles data set B should be the best.

[Hoskins, 2005]

References

[Wikipedia, 2005] Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia, William of Ockham, Last Updated at: November 03, 2005, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Occam.jpg

[Carrol, 2005] Robert Todd Carroll, Occam's razor, The Skeptic's Dictionnary, Created at: 2005, Retrieved at: October 24, 2005, http://skepdic.com/occam.html

[Hoffmann et al., 1997] Roald Hoffmann, Vladimir I. Minkin, Barry K. Carpenter, Ockham's Razor and Chemistry, HYLE--International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 3 (1997), Retrieved at: October 24, 2005, http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/3/hoffman.htm

[Lidwell, 2004] Lidwell William, Universal Principles of Design, Created at: January 21, 2004, Retrieved at: October 24, 2005, http://www.visualgui.com/index.php?p=1

[Omick, 2005] David Omick, Living outside the box, A Few Simple Technologies for Daily Living, Design Considerations, Last Updated at: August 08, 2005, Retrieved at: October 24, 2005, http://www.omick.net/design/design.htm

[Hoskins, 2005] Peter Hoskins, Hoskins, Created at: July 28, 2005, Retrieved at: October 24, 2005, http://peterhoskins.typepad.com/tailwhip/2004/11/