Wednesday, January 9, 2019

2019 - Day 9/356 - Wednesday...Occam's Razor...

Well, two days of TREPAC planning and training and preparing are done, and it was great. The finale was a briefing from Lt. Governor Dan Patrick on what the upcoming session may (or may not) hold for us. Our legislators meet every two years for about 140 days. The only thing that MUST be done during these sessions is to get a budget approved.Things are not always as they seem, and they don't always get their job done. You had one job... But I digress. Before the update started, Jaime and I tried out the chairs and had a little debate of our own. I lost the debate, but my socks were voted 'most photogenic'. Later that same day...I was taking my friend Melinda to catch her plane back to East Texas, and a call came in from our mutual friend Peter in Maryland. Very, very, VERY cool that he called while we were both in the car. Melinda introduced me and Peter in Boston (I think) but it seems like we have known each other much longer than that. Hard to tell...BUT, it was very serendipitous that he called while we were on our way to the airport, and we all had a chance for a good talk.

Occam's Razor -- Noun: a scientific or philosophical rule that favors the simplest explanation. "Occam's razor applies here. Or, as medical students are taught, when you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras." -- Paul Cassel, The Washington Post, February 6, 2017

Did You Know? William of Occam (also spelled "Ockham") didn't invent the rule associated with his name. Others had espoused the "keep it simple" concept before that 14th-century philosopher and theologian embraced it, but no one wielded the principle (also known as the "law of parsimony") as relentlessly as he did. He used it to counter what he considered the fuzzy logic of his theological contemporaries, and his applications of it inspired 19th-century Scottish philosopher Sir William Hamilton to link Occam with the idea of cutting away extraneous material, giving us the modern name for the principle.

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