Re: CULT: New Mexican iris on the Coast
From: John I Jones <jijones@ix.netcom.com>
HIPSource@aol.com wrote:
>
> William of Occam cautioned about entertaining multiple propositions, however
> attractive they might be. The Razor says: "Entities must not be unnecessarily
> multiplied."
>
Hmmmm, Well in more easily intrepreted terms:
"The simplest definition of Occam's Razor is "Don't make unnecessarily
complicated assumptions". It can be used as a philosophical way of sorting the
simple theories from the complicated ones. When scientists select theories,
they don't
just use the criterion of agreement or disagreement with observations. They
also have aesthetic principles, and a desire for an elegant, universal theory.
They use these aesthetic principles to remove the cloud of trivially competing theories
that necessarily surround every theory. Occam's razor is a working rule of
thumb, not the ultimate answer."
- Cohen J., & Stewart, I. (1994). The collapse of chaos. New York: Viking
Press.
Or in more colloquial terms:
"The simplest solution to a problem is often the best solution"
John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.
________________________________________________
USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay)
Fremont, California, USA
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President, Westbay Iris Society
Director, Region 14 of the AIS
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