Occam’s razor (also spelled Ockham’s razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham (ca. 1285-1349).
The principle is often expressed in Latin as:
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem,
which translates to:
entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.
An alternative way of stating this principle is:
Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate
which translates to:
plurality should not be posited without necessity
I like this later translation the best. The reason that Occam’s Razor connects with me so deeply is that we all live in an increasingly complex world where we all try to complicate things way too much in trying to understand event/activities/outcomes/happenings, or in our case web data. Yet in almost every case the reason for sub optimal outcomes is the complexity that we insert into the analysis from our thinking (assumptions, hypotheses).
I am sure I am taking my own poetic license in understanding the principle and internalizing it but Occam’s Razor is always at the back of my mind because it reminds me that often we need to simplify our thinking. The simpler the explanation the more likely it is better than a complex one.
For us in the Decision Making field my recommendation is that to truly understand complex sets of data we should apply the Occam’s Razor “smell test”.
If you are interested in detailed background on this principle you can check out its Wikipedia entry. Another great resource is the Skeptic’s Dictionary.
June 1st, 2006 at 19:37
[...] I CAME ACROSS a great new blog by Avinash Kaushik that discusses qualitative and quantitative web analysis. Avinash is responsible for the business, technical and strategic elements of Web Research & Analytics for Intuit’s 40+ ecommerce and non-ecommerce websites, and provides some truly thought provoking insights into web analytics. The blog is titled Occam’s Razor, and Avinash provides a wonderful summary about his decision to use that name. As his disclaimer clearly states, this is his personal blog and does not necessarily represent the thoughts of his employer. Certainly worth a look. [...]
June 19th, 2006 at 01:12
I think this quote is quite appropriate to be placed here…
“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
June 14th, 2007 at 10:19
Thanks for simple,elegant and informative blog.
July 17th, 2007 at 06:03
[...] This screencast will demystify web analytics and use Author and Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik’s mantra of simplicity to illustrate some of the useful features and reports in Google Analytics, a free but powerful web analytics software tool. Kaushik’s thinking is based on “Occam’s Razor Principle” (which boils down to a poetic way of saying “KISS“) The screencast will show some practical examples of how at least one nonprofit organization’s web site, the Idealist, is using the software in practice. The screencast will include a companion wiki with resources to aid further explanation. [...]
August 6th, 2007 at 03:10
Dear Avinash, what you say about the Occam’s razor is absolutely right! Many times we make our lives and thoughts more difficult than necessary; I am reading with great pleasure your wonderful book that explains sometimes complex matters in a very plain and understandable way. Compliments, again. Leonardo.
September 8th, 2007 at 10:11
Avendish, I’ve been brandishing Occam’s Razor for the last ten years and didn’t know it. The concept of boiling complexity down to core is the theme of most everything I have examined on my blog. I’m pleased to find that this principle has such an interesting history. Thanks for the information on William of Ockham. You’re going right to the top of my blog roll.
March 24th, 2008 at 20:42
Servo res simplex, bardus.
— Father Avinash the Analyst – 2008 A.D. :)
Keep it simple, stupid.
Great Blog, Thanks Avinash
October 2nd, 2008 at 13:10
[...] Occam’s Razor in Many Dimensions: As data collection increases can we “do more with less” by finding lower bounds for sensing complexity in systems? This is related to questions about entropy maximization algorithms. [...]
May 19th, 2009 at 15:18
I would translate like Brian Katz :
“Keep it simple, stupid.”
Good way to get, understand and use the data.
June 17th, 2009 at 10:14
Pop philosophy from my high school days:
anyone can make a simple thing complicated.
it takes a genius to make a complicated thing simple.
I’m no genius, but whenever I can do the latter — what a feeling of satisfication!
July 27th, 2009 at 05:02
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe:
“Less is More”
Same sentiment, echoed through later generations. All in the same vein.