Occam's Razor

I’ve always been mechanically inclined and a visual learner, which means let me get my hands on it and I’ll understand it better. I took mechanical drawing classes in high school and trade school, but only got to practice my profession about one year before being drafted into military service, whereupon, Uncle Sam plunged me back into hands-on mechanics. In trade school I had a great teacher. He was the designer/engineer of the rotating drier oven used very commonly today by industries throughout the world. His original design was used by producers of Portland cement, cutting drying time of materials to a fraction of what it was, thus increasing production output. The whole thing was actually very simply and efficient. Well anyway, the one thing he taught me with regards to solving any problem was to “KISS” it. The acronym, KISS, has several applications, but I learned it as, “Keep It Strictly Simple”. In other words, don’t make it more than it has to be or create a bigger problem than what you started with. THINK!
Friar William of Occam (ock-ham) (1285-1347), was a brilliant English logician and philosopher. He was said to be the most influential thinker of the 14th century. He was also a theologian who dared to challenge the power of the papacy and for that he was excommunicated. It is believed that he died a victim of the Black Plague which swept through northern Europe. In his many years of teaching and controversy, Occam made much use of what was known as the “principle of parsimony”, expressed as , “It is pointless to do with more what is done with less”. Another expression of this rule is, “entities are not to be multiplied”, which meant that all unnecessary acts or constituents in the subject being analyzed should be eliminated. His contemporaries described Occam as, “dissecting every question as with a razor”. The word “razor” was used to describe the shaving away of all unnecessary assumptions in order to reach the simplest explanation. Occam did not originate the idea that bears his name, but he did make it famous. This rule is commonly used in our society, although few know it as “Occam’s Razor”. It is better known as, “The simpler the better”. The simplest is usually the best approach, “Just cut to the chase”.
[2 Peter 1: 3-11] Communication, a simple thing in itself, has become so complex in the 21st century some people don’t even bother trying anymore. Even God’s simple message of salvation has become so perverted by wild interpretations that souls have given up trying to communicate with and understand their creator. What kind of world do you think we’d live in if, for instance, we treated our Bible, God’s Word, like we treat our cell phones? What if we carried it around with us all day, every day? What if we opened it and flipped through it several times a day? What if we forgot it one day? Would we return home to get it? What if we actually received messages from its texts? What if we treated our Bible like we couldn’t live without it? What if we gave it to our kids as gifts? What if we used it when we traveled? Could we use it in case of emergency? And you know, you don’t have to worry about being disconnected from God. Jesus has paid the bill in full for your lifetime. Don’t make life more complicated than it has to be. Cell phone gossip and stress is creating a lot of unnecessary problems. Got a problem? KISS it, and PUSH! (Pray Until Something Happens) God loves you.