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Principle Of Parsimony for Dummies

noun


What does Principle Of Parsimony really mean?

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Hey there! No worries, I'll break down the concept of "Principle of Parsimony" in the simplest way possible for you. So, picture this: imagine you're trying to explain something, like why the sky is blue, to someone who has never heard of it. You have two options. You can either come up with a really long, complicated explanation that involves a whole bunch of scientific terms and complex calculations, or you can take a more straightforward route and keep it simple, using the most basic explanations possible.



Now, the "Principle of Parsimony" is kind of like that second option. It suggests that when we are trying to figure something out or explain something, we should go for the simplest and most straightforward explanation that makes the most sense. Essentially, we want to use the fewest number of assumptions or elements to understand or explain something.



Let me give you an example. Say you find a glass of milk with a cookie missing and some crumbs on the table. Now, you can come up with several possible explanations for what happened: a hungry cat, a mischievous little brother, or maybe even a magical cookie thief! However, going with the "Principle of Parsimony," you would choose the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions, which in this case might be that you ate the cookie yourself and forgot about it.



So, the "Principle of Parsimony" is all about choosing the simplest and most straightforward explanation based on the evidence or information we have, rather than complicating things with unnecessary assumptions or elements. It's like using Occam's Razor, which is a famous saying that goes something like "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one."



I hope that helps! Remember, when you're trying to understand something or explain something to someone, always look for the simplest and most logical explanation. Keep it simple, my friend!


Revised and Fact checked by Olivia Brown on 2023-10-28 16:15:40

Principle Of Parsimony In a sentece

Learn how to use Principle Of Parsimony inside a sentece

  • Imagine you have two toy cars and you left them in the living room. When you come back later, you see that one of the cars is on the floor and the other is on the table. The Principle of Parsimony would say that the simplest explanation is that somebody picked up one of the cars and placed it on the table, rather than assuming that a magical force moved the car from the floor to the table.
  • Let's say you have ten dollars and you want to buy a toy. You go to the store and see two toys that you like. One is priced at five dollars and the other is priced at fifteen dollars. The Principle of Parsimony would suggest that the simplest option is to buy the toy that costs five dollars because it is more affordable than the other one.
  • Imagine you have a puzzle with missing pieces. You have two options: either a cat knocked over the puzzle and some pieces got lost, or your little brother hid the pieces somewhere. The Principle of Parsimony would propose that the simplest explanation is that the cat knocked over the puzzle and caused the pieces to get lost, rather than assuming that your little brother played a trick on you.
  • Suppose you have a jar filled with candies and you want to know how many are inside. You have two options: either you count each candy one by one, which would take a long time, or you shake the jar and listen for the sound of the candies hitting each other. The Principle of Parsimony would suggest that the easiest method is to shake the jar and listen to the sound because it is much quicker than counting each candy individually.
  • Let's say you are in a hurry to get to school but your bike has a flat tire. You have two choices: either you fix the tire and then ride to school, which would take a lot of time, or you take the bus instead. The Principle of Parsimony would propose that the simplest option is to take the bus because it is quicker and doesn't require fixing the bike.

Principle Of Parsimony Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

Principle Of Parsimony Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.