Otto’s razor: Difference between revisions

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-'’Tis not malice, spite, nor virtue <br>Whose ledger swells, or plucks, the seedy fruits of progress — <br>
+HERCULIO: ''’Tis not malice, spite, nor virtue <br>
-But mainly accident. <br>
+:Whose ledger swells, or plucks, the seedy fruits of progress — <br>
-Lest thy with surety know —<br>
+:But mainly accident. <br>
-Withhold thy assignations.
+:Lest thy with surety know aught else —<br>
+:Withhold thy assignations.
+TRIAGO: Dost thou mean to say <br>
+:Things peel this way<br>
+:Through doughty misadventure?
+HERCULIO: Peradventure —
+TRIAGO: Wouldst though ’pon this shaky surmise
+:Withhold thy rebuke?
+:Is it no more than that?
+HERCULIO: Aye — or a fluke.
 :—{{buchstein}}, {{dsh}}}}
-A rule of thumb, attributed to 19th century Austrian plowright {{buchstein}}, that recommends when there are plausible alternative explanations for a given piece of behaviour, one should choose the most simple-minded, preferring inadvertence or cloth-headedness in particular over the inspired, learned or malicious.
+A rule of thumb, attributed to 19th century Austrian plowright {{buchstein}}, that recommends when there are plausible alternative explanations for a given piece of behaviour, one should choose the simplest-minded, preferring cloth-headedness or coincidence over an alternative account involving the artful application of intelligence, inspiration, “malice, spite, or virtue”.
+Until the contrary is proven, we should treat both the pinnacles of cultural achievement and the chasms of mortal calumny the product of accident and not design.
-Until the contrary is proven, treat the pinnacles of cultural achievement, the chasms of mortal calumny, the enduring monuments to human endeavour, triumph, the lasting stains of hubris or wickedness to have come about by accident and not design.
+{{dsh}} was a comic farce, but (until the dengue fever got him) Büchstein was fond of pointing out apparent monuments to human triumph and stains of monstrous wickedness that in fact came about by more or less fortunate adjacency, and not intelligent design.
 {{Sa}}
 *[[Occam’s razor]]
 *{{buchstein}}