Re: Steve Wing, a scientist?

["J. C. Blechinger" <jcblechinger@usa.net>]

> Even if you would not regard me as the general public, I have never even
> heard of Occam's rasor. What is it?
>

Occam's Razor :
William of Occam (1284-1347) was an English philosopher and theologian. His
work on knowledge, logic and scientific inquiry played a major role in the
transition from medieval to modern thought. He based scientific knowledge on
experience and self-evident truths, and on logical propositions resulting
from those two sources. In his writings, Occam stressed the Aristotelian
principle that entities must not be multiplied beyond what is necessary.
This principle became known as Occam's Razor, a problem should be stated in
its basic and simplest terms. In science, the simplest theory that fits the
facts of a problem is the one that should be selected.

There are arguments against this philosophy, see
http://www.cs.washington.edu/research/jair/volume4/webb96a-html/webb96a.html
..


Joseph Blechinger, Ph.D. DABR
Aurora Health Care
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
JCBlechinger@usa.net

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