Occam's Razor and Its Impact on Science and the Universe

"Life Is Simple is enthralling," says Michael Blastland of Prospect. In his book Life Is Simple, scientist Johnjoe McFadden argues that simplicity is the guiding principle of the universe. Centuries ago, the principle of Ockham’s razor changed our world by showing simpler answers to be preferable and more often true. McFadden traces centuries of discoveries, taking us from a geocentric cosmos to quantum mechanics and DNA, and argues that simplicity has revealed profound answers to the greatest mysteries. According to him, this is no coincidence. He claims that from the laws that keep a ball in motion to those that govern evolution, simplicity has shaped the universe itself. In McFadden’s view, life could only have emerged by embracing maximal simplicity, making the fundamental law of the universe a cosmic form of natural selection that favors survival of the simplest. By recasting both the history of science and our universe’s origins, McFadden transforms our understanding of ourselves and our world.

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