Trim Beards and Bologna with Razors

Every Fall I let my beard grow out (if you can call the white mass of unruly hair on my chin a beard). The last time I completely shaved my beard, I received the following feedback from my kids: “You look funny. Don’t do that again.” You have to love teenagers…brutal honesty, softened not at all by any compassion. The upshot here is that, at least for the foreseeable future, I’ll be using my electric razor to trim my beard and not fully remove it. Razors are not just for keeping your teenage children at bay. Fun fact: you can trim beards AND bologna with razors!

You might be saying, “how can this be?” You might also be saying “what a weirdo!” Let’s proceed as if you’re more curious than suspicious. A philosophical razor is a critical thinking shortcut that allows us to “shave off” unlikely explanations of an event or unnecessary aspects of a question. Think rule of thumb or heuristic. You may have heard of Occam’s Razor (described below) which I’ve also seen referred to as the “KISS” (the keep it simple stupid) rule.

Our modern world presents us with an endless stream of information. Spoiler alert: not all of the stuff shoved down our throats is valid. Pick yourself up off the floor and then consider the ways in which “news” and information are streamed right into our hands (literally). If we allow it to, social media, news sites, and e-mail come at us day and night. Tips and tricks that we can use to combat that onslaught of info and help us decide what is true and what is bologna may help save time and frustration.

Here are a few philosophical razors that I find interesting.

Occam’s Razor

As I mentioned above, this is likely the most famous philosophical razor. This principle originates with William of Occam (Ockham) and essentially suggests that simpler explanations are more likely to be correct than complex explanations. When faced with multiple explanations or answers, the one that requires the fewest number of assumptions to be true is likely the right one to select.

“Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler!”

Albert Einstein

Is Occam’s Razor always right? Nope, but it can serve as a logical starting point when searching for the reason something has happened. A key underlying assumption here is that all available evidence is examined when searching for the correct explanation. Occam’s Razor does not suggest that evidence should be discounted in the name of simplicity. New evidence (facts, data, observations) should change the examination of available explanations.

In my work life, we used a “5 whys” technique in problem solving. Essentially, keep asking “why?” until a root cause answer is revealed and it is no longer productive to ask “why?”. Structured problem solving is a natural companion with Occam’s Razor in that we are seeking to uncover all available evidence and derive reasonable causality without including unreasonable or complex assumptions.

Conspiracy theories can run the full spectrum from mildly amusing (green M&M’s increase libido) all the way to grave (claims of election fraud). Occam’s Razor can provide a useful lens through which we can examine such theories. Ask yourself: how many extraordinary assumptions would need to be true for a theory to be true? Does it seem likely that all of those extraordinary assumptions are true? What actual evidence exists in support of the assumptions?

Grice’s Razor

The British philosopher Paul Grice put forth that: “Senses are not to be multiplied beyond necessity”. Grice’s Razor proposes that context is all important and the literal version of what is said shouldn’t be taken in isolation. Like Occam’s Razor, this principle highlights the value of simplicity (parsimony) in interpreting meaning and sorting explanations.

Making assumptions about what is meant vs. what is actually said happens every day. For example consider the following exchange:

Son: “Can I go to my friend’s house after soccer?”

Me: “Do you have any homework?”

Son: “Nope finished in class”

I may not actually text back “Ok” but my son rightly assumed that the condition under which I’m ok with him going to his friend’s house was that he had finished his homework.

Unfortunately, use of Grice’s Razor is susceptible to people who seek to mislead by making claims that are technically true or are true from a certain point of view.

A classic movie example comes from the original Star Wars trilogy when Luke Skywalker interrogates the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi as to the reason he never told him that Darth Vader was his father. Kenobi replies that because Luke’s father lost his true self when he turned into the evil being that is Darth Vader, it was therefor true from a certain point of view when he had told Luke that his father had died because of Vader.

Making inferences based on context is important and prevents a lot of pedantic complexities that would otherwise bog us down in understanding each other. We just need to be confident that we understand the context and the communicators within the context.

Hanlon’s Razor

One popular version of this rule of thumb states “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” While it’s named for Robert J Hanlon, similar statements have been captured going back to at least the 18th century. Napoleon Bonaparte once stated: ‘Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.“

I appreciate the idea that not everyone is out to get me. That the human species is not conspiring to do me harm. I think I take comfort in the belief that there is more stupidity in the world than spitefulness.

If living under the assumption that someone is more likely to be dumb than mean doesn’t make you feel any better, there is another assumption you can make. I wrote about assuming good intentions in others in a previous post. We just don’t know what kind of internal baggage others are carrying around with them at any given time. Instead of being mean or stupid, perhaps that person who cut me off is simply not fully present. Distraction, and not just incompetence or malice, cause mistakes to happen.

I know that applying this razor in daily life is hard. At least it is for me and my family members. My children will sometimes express frustration that the person refereeing their soccer game was “out to get” their team. More than likely, the referee was simply a bit out of position. It’s hard to maintain perspective when the actions of another person impact the quality of our own outcomes.

So next time someone cuts you off or makes a questionable soccer call, more than likely they aren’t being a jerk…they just goofed up in the moment. And keep in mind, we are sometimes the person on the other side of Hanlon’s Razor!

More what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules

“The code is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”

Hector Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean

If you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean, you’ll likely remember the multiple “Pirate Code” references. As Captain Barbossa points out, the code isn’t to be considered the be-all-end-all in pirate interactions. So too should we regard philosophical razors. I like to think of them as reasonable starting points when looking for an explanation or answer. Explanations that require complex assumptions or large leaps in interpretation are less likely to be true. We live in a world full of events that have varying degrees of likelihood of occurring. When we trim beards and bologna, not only will we look good, but we’ll feel good too! Removing some of the less likely options from the get-go provides us with the time to focus on the higher probability options.

We will still get properly surprised every once in a while, (I still hold out hope that Elvis is somewhere in the cosmos, entertaining an alien crowd in a sparkly white jumpsuit). But more times than not, the answers we seek start with a good ole shaving.

Written by: A Reed Reviewed by: B Holman