Talk:Occam's razor

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"Cities should use 'Razor'". L.A. Daily News. April 12, 2004.

Length[edit]

This article is far longer than is necessary for an adequate explanation of the topic. It fails to be a model of the very principle it describes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by D wigglesworth (talk • contribs) 19:09, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Nomenclature[edit]

I have always seen it spelled Ockham's Razor locally, and Occams Razor online. Given it is credited to Ockham, why is the nomenclature in this article Occam?

Could there be a section added for why this variation exists?

I looked into it a bit, Stanford for example use Ockham, but Occam is more prevalent. I assume it haves to do with Latin/English translation, but I cannot find any concrete sources to add this to the article. Emmertex (talk) 10:47, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I think that this arises from a combination of several factors. Although Latin has a letter 'K', the letter 'C' is more often used for the same sound and therefore his Latin name has usually been Occam. And Occam derives from the village now known as Ockham, but the spelling of that place would itself have been variable in centuries past, as with many other places. In the Domesday Book of the late 11th century, the village was called 'Bocheham' and only later became 'Ockham'. The aim shouldn't be to decide which is 'right' but what is the most common usage now, and if 'Occam's razor' is that, the article should reflect it. Sbishop (talk) 11:10, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]