If you were going to explain Occam’s Razor to a group of 12 year olds, and wanted to use some examples they would understand (maybe more than one), what might you use? I’m curious to see what people come up with.
Crop circles are the most used example (and Einstein’s theory of relativity is the most used non-example), but I’m looking for something more ordinary that kids might relate to on a personal level. What do you got?
For example (making it up as I go), “You lose a dollar coin and discover a hole in your pocket. You think maybe somebody stole the dollar, but it’s also possible that you lost it. Without any other evidence of a pickpocket, your best guess is that you lost it. It may not be possible to prove either way, but Occam’s Razor isn’t about proving something, it’s just about taking the best guess.”
One of the common illustrations for adults, but which should work just as well for kids, is hoofbeats. In short, when you hear hoofbeats, you should assume it’s horses, not zebras. Or, for that matter, unicorns.
That’s a terrific example. Thanks.
Dad, really I wasn’t playing football in the house. That’s not what broke the window. See this alien space craft landed in the yard because they were trying to find their way back to Mars, and when they took off, the sonic boom broke the window.
Any 12 year old should be able to fathom the application of Occam’s razor to that one.
The Tooth Fairy. By 12, kids should be aware that their parents sneaking some coins under their pillow is a lot more likely than a spirit with a dental obsession.
I can’t help feeling that Occam’s Razor and Bayes’ Theorem are closely related.
NOT an example of Occam’s razor. A conspiracy theory involving one’s parents, neighbors, popular literature, and TV is an unnecessary multiplication of entities compared to the simple theory that, yeah, she took your tooth and left a small sum of money.
When I was about 4 or 5, I actually tested the Tooth Fairy hypothesis by experiment. I’d lost a tooth and, without telling anyone, put it under my pllow. The next day, the tooth was still there but no coins. I fairly quickly came to the conclusion that it didn’t exist, and it wasn’t too long after that that I realized that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus didn’t either.
So we’re talking… Occam’s Safety Razor?
On the other hand, I once had the opposite experience. Once, one of my teeth wasn’t taken overnight, but Mom explained that the Tooth Fairy was very busy, having to work every day of the year, and so I left it under my pillow and waited. That morning, we went to drop off my sister at gymnastics class or some such, and between the time we left and when we returned, I could account for the whereabouts of every human who seemed like a plausible tooth-taker. I was the last to leave my room before we left, and the first into it when we returned, and in the mean time, the tooth had been swapped for a quarter. I still don’t know what other explanation there might be, other than the Tooth Fairy… Maybe Mom made arrangements with someone completely unexpected?
I doubt whether the youngest kids learn about it from any source other than their parents; at least I didn’t. You know your parents exist, are in your house, and have quarters. Postulating a Tooth Fairy is multiplying entities beyond what is necessary.
What makes that a non-example?
I did the exact same thing, except the morning I didn’t get a quarter I told my mom that I lost a tooth just then, and low and behold, I got a quarter the next day.
I didn’t let anyone know I figured them out, I wanted more money.
Occam’s razor IMNSHO is that you were a little kid and weren’t really paying attention and didn’t notice your mother slide the quarter under your pillow before you left.
I didn’t really follow the explanation because I am not that learned in the way of physics, but the gist of it was that Einstein’s theory wasn’t the simplest explanation for some damned thing and there used to be another theory what was. Turns out Albert was right, mostly, although I think they’ve added some triangles to the formula to make it more precise. He was righter than the other guy, anyway.
Not to mention dismembered body parts.
Do you think this illustrates Occam’s Razor or just that ‘common things are common’?
As I know you know, Occam’s Razor says you shouldn’t multiply your hypotheses (unnecessarily). So, if applied to the “sound of hoofbeats” it might say something along the lines of, "if you hear hoofbeats should you think that A) someone has a tape recording of hoofbeats, knows your listening, and knows also how to adjust the volume and timing of the sounds so that they mimic the naturally occurring hoofbeats of horses coming OR B) horses are coming?
By the way, do you know what Occam died from? (scroll a bit for the answer)
Answer: 'mutliple causes"!