Occam razor principle

It is advisable not to forget the parsimony principle, also called Occam razor, often paraphrased into... 

A good model is consistent with physical phenomena (i.e., 01 has a physically plausible form) and reduces crresidual to experimental error using as few adjustable parameters as possible. There is a philosophical principle known as Occam s razor that is particularly appropriate to statistical data analysis when two theories can explain the data, the simpler theory is preferred. In complex reactions, particularly heterogeneous reactions, several models may fit the data equally well. As seen in Section 5.1 on the various forms of Arrhenius temperature dependence, it is usually impossible to distinguish between mechanisms based on goodness of fit. The choice of the simplest form of Arrhenius behavior (m = 0) is based on Occam s razor. 

Symmetry is a common phenomenon in tlie world around us. IT Nature abhors a vacuum, it certainly seems to love symmetry It is difficult to overestimate the importance of symmetry in many aspects of science, not only chemistry. Just as the principle known as Occam s razor suggests that the simplest explanation for an observation is scientifically the best, so it is true that other tilings being equal, frequently the most symmetrical molecular structure is the preferable one. More important, die methods of analysis of symmetry allow simplified treatment of complex problems related to molecular structure. 

The physicists tried to solve this profound problem by the principle of least arbitrariness or a fortiori [2c]. This principle means the optimum relation among the introduced hidden variables, which are necessary to description of the phenomena. (This maxim is well known and accepted in the scientific community as (Occam s razor.)... 

One of the most widely used tools to assess protein dynamics are different heteronuclear relaxation parameters. These are in intimate connection with internal dynamics on time scales ranging from picoseconds to milliseconds and there are many approaches to extract dynamical information from a wide range of relaxation data (for a thorough review see Ref. 1). Most commonly 15N relaxation is studied, but 13C and 2H relaxation are the prominent tools to characterize side-chain dynamics.70 Earliest applications utilized 15N Ti, T2 relaxation as well as heteronuclear H- N) NOE experiments to characterize N-H bond motions in the protein backbone.71 The vast majority of studies applied the so-called model-free approach to translate relaxation parameters into overall and internal mobility. Its name contrasts earlier methods where explicit motional models of the N-H vector were used, for example diffusion-in-a-cone or two- or three-site jump, etc. Unfortunately, we cannot obtain information about the actual type of motion of the bond. As reconciliation, the model-free approach yields motional parameters that can be interpreted in each of these motional models. There is a well-established protocol to determine the exact combination of parameters to invoke for each bond, starting from the simplest set to the most complex one until the one yielding satisfactory description is reached. The scheme, a manifestation of the principle of Occam s razor is shown in Table l.72... 

The principle of establishing a one-plus rate equation and the values of its phenomenological coefficients is very simple. If the reaction is irreversible and found to be of an order between zero and one with respect to a participant i, the simplest one-plus equation contains the respective concentration Cj (or p ) as a factor in the numerator and in some but not all terms of the denominator. More generally, if the order is between n (positive integer) and n + 1, the simplest equation contains the factor Cin+1 in the numerator and Q in some but not all terms of the denominator. Many other combinations are possible, but less likely. For instance, an order between zero and plus one might also result from a numerator with factor Cj2 and a denominator with Cj in some terms and Cf in the others. Occam s razor suggests the best policy to try the simplest option first. 

The fourteenth century English philosopher William of Occam introduced the principle known as Occam s razor. A paraphrase of this principle which can be applied to writing organic reaction mechanisms is expressed in Hint 2.17. 

Such a simple way of reasoning is in accordance with the principle due to the Fransiscan philosopher William of Occam ( 1280-1349) and known as Occam s Razor, which states Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate... 

The next two properties, appropriate level of detail and as simple as possible, are two sides of the same coin because model detail increases at the expense of simplicity. Modeler s refer to this aspect of model development as Occam s razor. Formulated by William of Occam in the late Middle ages in response to increasingly complex theories being developed without an increase in predictability, Occam s razor is considered today to be one of the fundamental philosophies of modeling—the so-called principle of parsimony (Domingos, 1999). As ori-... 

Principle of parsimony (Occam s Razor William of Ockham, 1285-1349/ 1350, English philosopher and logician). All things being (approximately) equal, one should accept the simplest model. 

These variations involve unsupported hypolhet ical details. Occam s Razor requires that such details be omitted where possible, but sometimes they are necessary for the construction of a predic lively competent model. In that case. Occam s Razor specifies that the simplest such model should be taken as the working hypothesis. Walborsky s postulate of a loose radical pair violates this principle. Its properties are not described. Is it supposed to be like an ordinary radical pair in solution, with a similar lifetime and with possibilities of geminate reaction or escape Or is it something else Why is it included at till Similar considerations apply to the tight radical pair. ... 

Occam s (or Ockham s) razor is a principle attributed to the 14th-century logician William of Occam which can be stated as follows ... 

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