Editing 2541: Occam
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Created by a BOT THAT ONLY CREATES ALL PAGES NOT MENTIONING ITSELF - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | This comic | + | This comic conflates three philosophical topics: {{w|Occam's Razor}}, the {{w|Barber Paradox}} and {{w|Murphy's Law}}. |
− | Occam's Razor is the principle that explanations should not postulate more entities than necessary. It is often phrased as "the simplest explanation is best". The word '{{w|Philosophical razor|razor}}' is intended to | + | Occam's Razor is the principle that explanations should not postulate more entities than necessary. It is often phrased as "the simplest explanation is best". The word '{{w|Philosophical razor|razor}}' is intended to invoke the image of shaving off superfluous elements. |
− | The | + | The Barbe Paradox postulates a town barber who shaves all the men in the town who don’t shave themselves, and asks whether the barber shaves himself. The paradox is that if he does, then he doesn’t; and if he doesn’t, then he does. It is an attempt at a concrete, real-world analogue of Russell’s paradox in set theory. |
− | Megan | + | Megan references Occam's Razor with the words "the simplest explanation" and the name Occam, and goes on to propose a solution to who shaves the barber. (Her proposal is humorous and does not of course resolve the paradox). |
− | The title text invokes Murphy's Law: the expectation that | + | The title text invokes Murphy's Law: the expectation that if anything can go wrong it will. Shaving with a {{w|Straight razor|cut-throat razor}} has bad failure modes. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | + | [One panel. Megan and Cueball walking.] | |
+ | |||
+ | Megan: The simplest explanation is that Occam shaves the barber. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Logic]] | [[Category:Logic]] | ||
− | [[Category:Philosophy]] | + | [[Category: Philosophy]] |