Philosophical Splinters

In an environment once thick with wind or water and rock, sand is evidence of the confluence of time and energy. Evidence is not proof, though; only a defensible suggestion.  A suggestion of what what constituted “here and now” when “here” was “here” but “now” was “then.” The defensible suggestions are endless, but the assumption used to select one upon which to use as evidence is Occam’s Razor, or the Law of Parsimony—i.e., the simplest explanation is the most likely.

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Depending on one’s innate (or learned) biases (which inform one’s assumptions), Occam’s Razor can be used to argue for or against the existence of God. But that is not the purpose for which Occam’s Razor is intended; it is meant to serve as a philosophical tool for choosing the explanation with the fewest assumptions. In that context, truth often is determined to be just one of many possibilities—the one that can be explained with the fewest possibilities. The strict application of Occam’s Razor would, in my view, give us a radically different understanding of the world from the ones upon which we rely.

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Political posturing in this era of of civic madness offers evidence that Kool-Aid is thicker than blood, which adds an element of uncertainty and confusion to the aphorism that “blood is thicker than water.” The ingredients in Kool-Aid then must include thickening agents, which change the composition of water, causing me to disseminate this advice: before accepting a blood transfusion, get assurances that it is free of Kool-Aid or other thickening agents.

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Sometimes, when the lyrics of songs I like pop into my head unexpectedly, I ponder what might have caused them to show up when they did. Occasionally, the reasons are immediately clear, like this example from a post I wrote three-plus years ago illustrates:

My late wife and I used to laugh hysterically when we talked about her misunderstanding of a lyric from a John Prine song, That’s the Way the World Goes Round. Here’s the correct stanza:

That’s the way that the world goes ’round
You’re up one day, the next you’re down
It’s half an inch of water and you think you’re gonna drown
That’s the way that the world goes ’round

But she heard:

That’s the way that the world goes ’round
You’re up one day, the next you’re down
It’s half an enchilada and you think you’re gonna drown
That’s the way that the world goes ’round

That’s how we should react to worry; just laugh it off. Easier said than done, of course. Worry does not subscribe to Occam’s Razor.

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I wonder what people think of my superficially absurd writing? Plenty of it is deeply superficial, indeed. But some of it is intended to spur much more serious thought. Generally speaking, the evidence suggests either I fail spectacularly or readers are reticent to approach me with questions about my sanity.  Occam’s Razor suggests…