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Suppose, I go to a store to buy a tap. There are two taps. One is 1.7 times bigger than the other. Both have the same price. Both taps will fit on the water tube at home. Soo both have the same functionality.

After thinking for a while, I chose the smaller one because smaller is simpler and thus will have less errors.

Question: Did I correctly apply Ockham's razor?

PS: In reality, I bought the bigger tap & I got a problem. The problem is that next to the water tube, there is another tap that is a bit close to the top end of the water tube. When putting the bigger tap into the top end of the tube, I can only go to 70%, not 100%, because the bigger tap got stuck by that other tap.

I think that "buying the smaller tap would eliminate the error since the bigger tap has a higher chance to get stuck than the smaller tap".

Tom
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    Apart from Lukas' correct answer why you can't apply Ochkam's razor here: bigger is not necessarily more complicated. If there would've been a third tap of the size of a few millimeters diameter, would you buy it because it has less chance to get stuck? –  Jan 19 '15 at 10:29
  • that too small tap will not meet the buyer's requirement, then i will definitely reject it – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 10:46
  • Then what's the buyer's requirement? You didn't mention that in your question. Isn't the buyer's requirement that it doesn't get stuck? Then how can he possibly come home with a tap that does get stuck? (I'm not trying to say you're a terrible DIY-er or so - I don't know you -, but you're looking at this as if this is a perfect world which it's not.) –  Jan 19 '15 at 10:48
  • see other example, there are 2 cars. both has same price. The space inside the cars are the same, everything inside the car is the same. The engines of both cars are the same. There is 1 different thing. The front and back of the 2nd is longer and thus occupy more spaces than the 1st. Which one will you choose? – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 10:50
  • The one that fits my requirements best. (I don't need a car, probably I won't buy any and save the money for other stuff.) If I need a lot of space I will take the longer one. If I need a car that has the smallest chance to get stuck or whatever I will buy the smaller one. If I need a car ... you get the idea. –  Jan 19 '15 at 10:52
  • the few millimeters tap will be too small for user to open it. I mean 2 taps have equal functionality, except that 1 is 1.7 time bugger than the other. – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 10:53
  • if that's the case they do not have the same properties. Why would a buyer look only at the functionalities and not at possible side effects? In essence, his requirements are probably also to limit side effects as much as possible. Anyway, this discussion is becoming too long for the SE format, and I think my point is quite clear. Let's leave it with that. –  Jan 19 '15 at 10:55
  • so, if you choose the smaller car then why don't u choose the smaller tap? if you say "his requirements are probably also to limit side effects as much as possible" then u r applying Okham razor – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 10:55

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Occam's razor is a principle to choose between two theories which have the same explanatory power. According to the razor, you ought to choose the one that postulates lesser entities.

This explanation, while often helpful, is still rather unclear and the details are still debated among philosophers. For example, it is left open whether a theory with less types of entities or with less tokens should be preferred (Examples for types: Numbers, Sets, Functions..., and for tokens: 1, 2, {{45}}...).

To conclude: You don't apply it correctly, because the principle is about theory choice.

Lukas
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  • In reality, I bought the bigger one & I got a problem. The problem is that next to the water tube, there is another tab that is a bit close to the top end of the tube. When I put the big tap into the top end of the tub I can only go 70%. I could not go to 100% cos it got stuck by another tap. – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 08:47
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    Although in this case it would have been better for you to buy the smaller thing, that does not generalise. 'Buy the smaller thing' is a principle that won't ensure that you buy the right thing each time. – Lukas Jan 19 '15 at 08:51
  • buy smaller one will eliminate the error since the bigger one can have more chance to be stuck than the smaller one – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 09:08
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No, because occam's razor is a way of choosing between explanations, not ways of doing things.

You could try and say the explanation the small tap is better posits less tap, and so is more parsimonious. But so does the explanation that the small tap is worse.

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    This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. – iphigenie Jan 19 '15 at 13:43
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    i explicitly answered the question "no because" –  Jan 19 '15 at 13:44
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Several answers have said "no," which is the correct answer. However, in the spirit of helpfulness, I would like to provide a similar situation which, while also physical rather than theoretical, is closer to something which Occam's razor is applicable to.

Consider that you have two taps you can choose from. For purposes of tapping water lines, they are identical (not even different sizes, as in your original question). However, one of them uses a laser, dremel attachment, a leak-detector, and a small microcontroller to do the task, while the other uses a simple screw and a punch.

If, for all intensive purposes, you cannot determine the difference in quality between the jobs the two taps do, it would be reasonable to claim Occam's razor and choose the simpler of the two devices. The physical analog for the razor is, "this one has fewer parts that can break or get in my way or surprise me, and does the job just as well."

Now consider the opinion of a different contractor while is working in a more demanding environment. In the environment he is working in, leaks are bad news; lets give him a motivation and claim he's working in a nuclear missile silo and a leak could launch the missile! In his situation, he can distinguish between the quality of the work done by the simple tap and the insanely complicated one: the complicated one has a built in leak detector that improves the quality of his work product!

Because his situation is different (he can tell the difference in functionality between the taps), he cannot apply Occam's Razor. He must do a cost benefit ratio and make a full decision. In your situation, where there was no material difference between the performance of the same taps, you could apply the razor (or at least its physical analog).

Cort Ammon
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  • what about 2 cars that have same functionality. The inside space of the 2 cars are exactly the same, all the engines of both cars are the same but 1 car has its front and back a bit logger than the other. That means that long car was not designed as good as the the shorter one and thus could have some errors like it might not fit into small parking places. So most people will likely choose the smaller one. Is that Occam's razor? If it is then why we can't apply it into the tap example? – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 16:06
  • many people here apply Occam's razor so strictly. In fact, my question is simple like that "provided that they both have the same functionality, then is the smaller tap simpler than the bigger one?" – Tom Jan 19 '15 at 16:11
  • I think you're confusing "simpler" with "smaller." Smaller does not mean simpler. And the purpose of Occams Razor is not to reduce errors (like mentioned in the post), but to avoid needless complexity in models which don't actually prove any useful proving power. – Cort Ammon Jan 20 '15 at 04:13