
Working Smart with ‘Occam’s Razor’
Principal, Des Mitchell, has provided insights from the fields of education, law and psychology in Living Waters Lutheran College’s newsletters in 2024. Topics have included:
- The benefits of hope;
- The ‘how’ of happiness;
- Satisfaction with life, and research on optimism;
- Performance-related neuroscience and the ‘relaxation response’;
- Reflection on reconciliation;
- Insights from a venture capitalist and his film Most Likely to Succeed;
- Research on kindness; and
- ‘Good’ and ‘Great’ at Living Waters, according to Year 12 students.
In the college’s final newsletter for Term 3, Des provided a thought-provoking article about Occam’s Razor. With Des’ kind permission, the article is shared below.
To approach something with Occam’s Razor is to be succinct and economic with your time.
It suggests more things should not be used (or done) than are necessary. It’s a mode of thought that ‘creates time’ to do other important tasks.
Occam’s Razor is very similar to the rule-of-thumb: ‘Keep it simple’.
Said differently, if there are a couple of explanations for an event or phenomena, the most likely simple explanation is right.
The principle of Occam’s Razor can be helpful for all students; young and old.
Occam’s Razor is a way of thinking named after English Christian, William of Ockham. William was a mathematically-minded Franciscan friar who studied logic in the 14th century. He argued that if you focus (ie, study) on what is most important, you will become more effective, and more likely to satisfy what you were trying to achieve. He was a person who encouraged rigorous thinking. He ‘shaved’ back unlikely explanations, to help reveal the most likely answer, hence the reference to Occam’s Razor.
‘Doing more things does not drive faster or better results. Doing better things drives better results.’
This statement is drawn from an article by James Clear: The Myth of Multitasking: Why Fewer Priorities Leads to Better Work.
We can all take a leaf out of William’s philosophical approach to life, by being intentionally discerning, giving priority attention to the value-adding things that matter. All students (regardless of age), can think like William, by asking themselves: What is it that is really important? It’s not about working harder and harder, it’s about working smarter and smarter. This includes how we approach assignments and exams.
In the field of Law, the final judgement in some cases can be 100’s of pages long. Lawyers learn to look for the ratio descidendi, ie, ‘the reason for the decision’. This is especially true for Law students preparing for their exams. The ratio descidendi is typically succinct, providing clarity as to why the decision (judgement) was made. Lawyers are trained to ‘shave information’ down to the ‘material (important) facts’, apply the law to the facts, then form a conclusion.
I wonder if Jesus’ words influenced William to dedicate himself to being highly motivated in studying how to be rational. In a disciplined way, William of Ockham encouraged and challenged others to ‘shave back’ information to the truth. William dedicated his life to better understanding God. His lifetime of work is reflected in the scripture below.
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:5
Takeaways:
- Focus on what is important.
- The answer to queries is likely to be what is most probable.
- Multi-tasking is a myth.
- We can learn from the legal profession by finding the ratio, ie the most important reason for the outcome (or decision).
- Hope helps us endure discomfort and pain to achieve our goals.
