#头条创作挑战赛#
I found that many people have a Xi that if they are experienced in a thing, the easier it is to think (do) things (do) complicated, overthink, and lead to complex solutions.
Like, putting an elephant in the fridge is a three-step process: open the fridge, fill the elephant, and turn off the fridge.
And a lot of people will think about a lot of assumptions, the size of the refrigerator, killing the elephant, cutting into pieces, and so on.
I myself am also dealing with too many complex problems, and when I encounter simple problems, I will over-speculate and deal with complex problems, and I often worry about it.
It wasn't until I recently read a book and learned Xi "Occam's razor's law" that it dawned on me that I was in internal friction.
Today, I will also share this law with you, learn this law Xi, you will understand how this "knife of truth" has affected mankind for hundreds of years, and even Warren Buffett has been deeply affected and has been practicing this theory all his life.
This principle is closely linked to the previous issue of Gidlin's Law, which focuses on discovering the essence of the problem, and Occam's Law, which focuses on solutions.
The full text is 3000 words, all of which are dry goods, it is recommended to like and collect them first, and then read them.
01
What is Occam's Razor's Law?
Occam's razor, also known as "O'Con's razor", "The Law of Simplicity", was proposed by the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan monk Occam William.
他在《箴言书注》1卷-15题说“Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily“。
The translation is, "Don't waste more to do what you can do well with less." In other words, "do not add entities unless necessary."
So, how do we understand this principle?
To use an analogy -
Some people have come up with a theory that the moon is actually square! Why is it that the moon we usually see is round?
That's because the moon has a spirit, it knows that we are looking at it, and so, the moment it is seen, it becomes round, and when we turn around, it becomes square again.
And someone put forward another hypothesis, saying that the moon was originally round.
Which of these two theories is consistent with an observational fact?
The answer is, all of them are – logically they are all self-consistent.
However, compared to the "round moon theory", the "square moon" involves too many assumptions, and according to Occam's razor's law, a concise theory is a good theory, so we believe that the moon is round and not square.
By extension, Occam's razor means: when there are two competing theories that can come to the same conclusion, the simple one is better.
By extension, there are N theories of a phenomenon, and the simplest one is correct, and in practice, if you can do things well with N, then you don't have the N+1 action.
Away from the scientific theories, the Occam's razor is also applicable.
For example, in the corporate world, simplistic information can be delivered faster, simplistic organizations can operate more flexibly, and simplistic designs are more acceptable to the market.
For example, in the art world, many masters believe that simplicity is infinite meaning, and the greatest works are actually simple, without the slightest embellishment, and go straight to the heart.
02
A couple of interesting cases
1. How do I fix the empty soap dish problem?
In the past, Unilever introduced a soap packaging line, but this line had a flaw: there were often boxes that did not contain soap.
The company can't sell empty boxes to customers, which will have a big impact on Unilever's goodwill.
To solve this problem, Unilever hired a postdoc studying automation to devise a solution to sort empty soap boxes.
The postdoctoral fellow set up a scientific research team of more than a dozen people, comprehensively adopted mechanical, microelectronics, automation, X-ray detection and other technologies, spent hundreds of thousands, and successfully solved the problem.
Whenever an empty soap dish passes through the production line, detectors on both sides detect it and drive a robot to push the empty soap dish away.
A township enterprise in southern China also bought the same production line and discovered the problem, and the company's workers quickly figured out a solution: put a fan next to the production line and blow it violently, and the empty soap box would naturally be blown away.
Both solutions are solutions for different scenarios, not to mention which is better or worse, but from the perspective of the solution steps, the Chinese workers see the difference in the weight of the empty box, and the solution is the simplest, which is in line with the Occam's razor principle.
2. The "Laffer Curve" in Taxation
Taxation is one of the key means of control in the economic system.
So how to adjust taxes is the most troubling question for the ruling officials.
Tomatoes, which are both a vegetable and a fruit, should tomatoes be taxed?
Defined as a fruit, the tax rate is very high, the farmer will produce less, and the consumer will have to pay a high price
Defined as vegetables, it is a basic consumer product, which is low tax, or no tax.
With a stalemate, how should the government choose?
Economists suggest that according to the principle that legal control is necessary, tomatoes should not be taxed as vegetables, and that tax collection requires manpower and material resources, and it is likely that the resources consumed will exceed the benefits brought by the collection.
The Laffer curve was proposed by the American economist Arthur Laffer in 1974 and depicts the relationship between the government's tax revenue and the tax rate.
However, when the tax rate is raised beyond a certain limit, the operating costs of enterprises increase, investment decreases, and income decreases, that is, the tax base decreases, which in turn leads to a decrease in government tax revenue.
Here, the meaning of the Laffer tax curve is: don't raise taxes unless you have to.
3. The design of Muji Japan
At a time when everyday goods are competing for beauty, Japan's MUJI is doing the opposite, pursuing a minimalist style and making a difference.
Its products have been stripped of all unnecessary designs, so simple that only the materials and functions themselves remain, and even the brand logo has been removed.
That's why it's called "MUJI".
In addition to the product design, its store design is also extremely simple.
The simplicity, simplicity, naturalness, and environmental protection reflected inside and out can't help but make consumers rise to a philosophy of life that washes away the lead and returns to the essence......
Use Occam's razor to eliminate all kinds of bells and whistles, useless functions, and only retain the core functions of the product.
In addition to MUJI, we can also find confirmation in other brands or things today.
These products are also really loved by users: Apple's iPod, iPhone, simple music festival, Nordic minimalist/frigid, and so on.
03
What Occam's Razor Law Teaches Us
Socrates said, "The most possible solution to any problem is the one with the least steps." ”
Albert Einstein said, "Everything should be as simple as possible, but it can't be simpler." ”
Warren Buffett admired Occam's razor, adhered to first principles, and insisted on value investing in the complex stock market, which gave him the name of the god of stocks.
So what can Occam's razor teach us? Here are three points:
Follow the most basic principles and rules
For example, if there is a low-investment, low-risk, high-return, and ready-to-exit wealth management product, do you want to buy it?
One way to make this decision is to learn financial investment, investment psychology and tactics, and listen to financial experts analyze industry trends, but these are also difficult to ensure that you are foolproof.
Another way is to understand a basic law of financial investment:
The risk is directly proportional to the return, and the greater the return, the greater the risk! The probability of the existence of low-investment, low-risk, and high-return investment is extremely low.
It is difficult for ordinary people to encounter such a good thing, let alone others will highly recommend it to you.
With Occam's razor, you can shave off all kinds of superficial tricks. Just like in 2018, many people played P2P financial management, and finally lost their money because of the explosion of the platform.
Therefore, it is necessary to understand the basic laws of investment, that is, to pay attention to the unchanged things and deal with the changing routine.
Finding the real problem is more important than solving it
Financial Times columnist Lucy Kehravier has proposed a "Parkinson's law of triviality", which says that the amount of time we spend thinking about something is inversely proportional to its importance.
For example, when our company was discussing what strategy to use for "online supermarket business", we quickly decided that we wanted to cultivate user Xi, but then we spent a long time discussing the details of division of labor, budget allocation, and whether to engage in community.
We often spend time on trivial things because we understand these little things, and we don't know about those complicated issues, so we don't know and we don't dare to ask.
Solving a problem before you find a real problem will only go further and further in one direction, so focus on finding the essence of the problem.
Less is more
Many minimalists believe in the principle that less is more.
Whether it is in work or life, you must know how to control and shave unnecessary desires and goals, so that you can focus on the problems of the moment.
Many times, there is only one core of the problem, and if you do more, you will be wrong.
In the final analysis, the Occam's razor principle in the West and the simplicity of the Great Dao in the East are essentially the same.
When you're faced with complexity and uncertainty, Occam's razor can help you reduce unnecessary distractions and fumbling around.
04 Conclusion
Don't think that the "Occam's razor" is just a tool used by talented people, in fact, it is everywhere, just waiting for people to pick it up.
It can be used in almost all kinds of situations, such as life Xi, product design, workplace management, etc., as long as you have the heart, you can play the power of "simplicity" everywhere and avoid redundancy.
As long as we are brave enough to pick up the "Occam's razor" and simplify complex things, you will find that life is actually very simple, and success is not far from you.
Albert Einstein said, "Everything should be as simple as possible, but not too simple." ”
Simplicity but not simplicity is the right way to use Occam's razor.