Occam’s Razor

I was reading when I stumbled upon what they call the “Occam’s Razor”.

The concept comes from and English logician, William of Ockham. Simply put, Occam’s Razor suggests that when analyzing a problem, all unnecessary details should be discarded so everyone can focus on the core of the problem. Also, options that lack simplicity should be discarded. This suggests that the simpler solution might be the better one (and yes, this method has it’s limits).

Reading on the topic, I discovered that this method is commonly used as a part of the scientific method and that Avinash Kaushik likes the concept too.

What do you think?

Do not confuse precision with accuracy

It’s easy to fall in the trap. Precise numbers help others trust that you are accurate.

However, precision is not accuracy. Someone can say, “Your package will arrive in 5 days, 2 hours and 15 seconds.”. That is pretty precise, but it may not be accurate. On the other side, “Your package will arrive in 5 days.” is not very precise, but it can be accurate.

An accurate answer or estimate is, most of the time, more precious than a precise one.