Occam's razor
Source status: Source not yet verified by the archive.
The simplest sufficient explanation is preferred.
In context
This law belongs with Murphy's Laws, where small assumptions, timing, and system complexity tend to turn into memorable failures.
Editorial note
Prefer the explanation that accounts for the evidence with the fewest unsupported assumptions; simplest does not mean shortest or easiest.
Practical example: When one configuration change explains a failure, test it before proposing several unrelated simultaneous faults.
Reviewed ยท Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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