Post by fatpaul on Mar 4, 2017 17:10:46 GMT
Ockham’s razor, or the principle of parsimony. A methodological principle dictating a bias towards simplicity in theory construction, where the parameters of simplicity vary from kinds of entity to the number of presupposed axioms to characteristics of curves drawn between data points. Although found in Aristotle, it became associated with William Ockham because it captures the spirit of his philosophical conclusions. m.m.a. Marilyn McCord Adams, William Ockham (Notre Dame, Ind., 1987), ch. 5, pp. 143–67.
We tend towards simpler explanations and methods and we question if this bias for simplicity relates truthfully the real world. We look for justification of our bias's truthfulness and the Solomonoff Induction itself is a mathematical justification for our bias, along with many other explanations, none of which are without their problems (see Simplicity).
[Edited]
I don't see how SI would even claim that OR is a real principle but rather a high likelihood that it could be real given that the theory itself is falsifiable. So I still stand by my statement, specifically that OR is a tendency for simplicity in us, not necessarily a tendency of the universe, or more precisely: OR is a tendency for simplicity, which we have, not necessarily a tendency to what's real.
Just to leave you this quote also, from Occam's razor:
In science, Occam's razor is used as a heuristic technique (discovery tool) to guide scientists in the development of theoretical models, rather than as an arbiter between published models.[1][2] In the scientific method, Occam's razor is not considered an irrefutable principle of logic or a scientific result; the preference for simplicity in the scientific method is based on the falsifiability criterion. For each accepted explanation of a phenomenon, there may be an extremely large, perhaps even incomprehensible, number of possible and more complex alternatives, because one can always burden failing explanations with ad hoc hypotheses to prevent them from being falsified; therefore, simpler theories are preferable to more complex ones because they are more testable.[3][4][5]