Those who are keen on the principle of Occam’s Razor [“Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate” or “Plurality is not to be posited without necessity” or “Keep it simple”] may be surprised, perhaps even dismayed, by a new research project which hints at its unpopularity. “[…] we find that people have a preference for complex […]
Tag: simplicity
Psychology: Simplicity is Unappealing
Simple explanations simply don’t cut it, sometimes for some people. Especially for some professional psychologists. This essay explores that strange fact: “Clever Animals and Killjoy Explanations in Comparative Psychology,” Sara J. Shettleworth, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 14, no. 11, November 2010, pp. 477-81. The author, at the University of Toronto, explains: From the process […]