Occam's Razor - It's a Life & Faith Principle

 

Occam's Razor has come up, randomly, in my life three times in the past week or two. When something random and almost obscure (obscure at least to non-physicists or non-geeks or laypeople - apparently I straddle the fence) comes up twice, I take pause. When it comes up three times, I really take notice and usually ponder some version of the following, "There's something here for me to learn. What is it?"

Prior to the Occam's threesome of late, I knew Occam's Razor had something to do with the following: The simplest explanation is probably the right one. But of course, I had to look it up. (What did we do before the internet? Oh, right. Libraries. Mmm. I like the smell of libraries.) Anyway. According to Principia Cybernetica Web,

Occam's razor is a logical principle attributed to the medieval philosopher William of Occam (or Ockham). The principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. This principle is often called the principle of parsimony. It underlies all scientific modeling and theory building. It admonishes us to choose from a set of otherwise equivalent models of a given phenomenon the simplest one. In any given model, Occam's razor helps us to "shave off" those concepts, variables or constructs that are not really needed to explain the phenomenon. By doing that, developing the model will become much easier, and there is less chance of introducing inconsistencies, ambiguities and redundancies.

I love scientists. Above they are explaining a principle, developed by some logician friar in the 14th century, that's main point is simplicity, and they're making it more complex than necessary. But if you just focus on one sentence above, it "shaves off" the unnecessary complexities. "It admonishes us to choose from a set of otherwise equivalent models of a given phenomenon the simplest one." Or, more precisely stated (and hence more apropos) from Phys NCKU, "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better."

But how does this apply to me? I mean, this keeps coming up in my life and while I don't want to make meaning where there is none (Oh, come on! We all like to make meaning where there is none, don't we?!?) So....

I pondered this for a while. I pondered for a good 12 hours or so before mentioning it to Marcus. By the way, the conclusion I had drawn before talking with Marcus about it was that I was probably making things in my life too complex and a simplifying was likely in order, but I hadn't gotten to the crux of it yet...

Marcus said, and I'm paraphrasing of course, "Well. Lately you've been talking about money and not having enough. Maybe this keeps coming up in your life for you to simplify how you make money."

I responded as only a person who's very important life lesson is staring them in the face can by saying, "der, what do you mean, like just working for myself?" (I added the "der" postmortem, but it might as well have been there.)


He smiles. "Yeah. Well. It's simpler than that even. Just do what you love. Do all the things that you like to do and the money will come. That's the way it's worked in my life."

Duh. Like a fly swatter hitting me square in the forehead. Ow! That stings. I hate it when he's always right. I love it that he's usually right.

But if I were to apply this twist onto Occam's Razor, isn't that only part logic and physics and another large part faith? In other words, it's not just a physics or science principle, it's a life and faith principle.

Maybe all of physics is faith. Or at the very least intuition. Or both, really. (The two are intrinsically intertwined in my world anyway.) It has to be. Or it had to be at some point since physics is a relatively new science, at least in how we deal with it today. Though you can bet aboriginal human had figured trajectories, theories and all sorts of things we only now call modern physics. I bet they even had their own version of Occam's Razor.

So how can you apply Occam's Razor to your life? Comment. Weigh-in. You know how I love weigh-ins.

Me? I'm showing up here, writing my blog, recording music, and helping people wherever I can. Those seem to be my big three tenants to live by right now.

Music. Just put a new song on Katie Strand Music. It's one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs called To Make You Feel My Love - sentimental in such a good way. Sentimental the way greats like Bob Dylan know how to do really well and I do hope I've done justice to. Listen to this song. You may just want it played at your wedding.

Let me know what you think.

And remember to simplify. Occam says so.

More Interesting Katie Strand World Posts

• If Richard Pryor had a period...
• If you're prone to nudeness...
• Hello, my name is Temple Grandin.
• Blog tease, yelling to no one & the secret to long...
• My Addendum to "Choose a Job You Love...
• The Primal Diet & Running
• Chop Wood, Carry Water, Do Taxes
• The male member revealed
• Play with the Girls
• How to tame the psycho hose beast
• Oh boy, that's a good question! or How to Deal with the Census
• These boots were made for walking
• If I were a Ninja, I'd wear these shoes
• How my friend Sally became the new First Lady
• My Boyfriend has Autism...Maybe
• Raw Primal Papaya Custard - The Nectar of the Gods
  
• And All the Cows Said Moo!
• If you were John Mayer, you would too
• Tiredness - Varieties of and unforeseen side-effects
• Foreplay is overrated
• Food should be As God Intended or Why isn't everything we eat organic?
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• My Favorite Things...Arrabiata Recipe - Fresh, Organic, Vegan or Primal
• My Favorite Shows on Television...or how David Duchovney & Jesus are likely Good in Bed
• The Hawaiian Islands and Washington D.C.’s sand-paper circle-jerk about Health Care
• My Buddha has Termites...A Lesson in Infinite Joy
• The One-Date-Wonders!
• I had to learn SIGN LANGUAGE when I moved to Los Angeles
• Guys can make a game out of anything
• Hello? The power of CONNECTING and how technology has changed things
• Popping the question is better than porn!
• Bravo, Stephen Colbert & Co! and your Olympic Vancouverage
• Songwriting is like SEX
• Born To Run by Christopher McDougall - Inspiring a inspiring all of us to be more in the FLOW
• A moment of silence for all the plastic surgery ca...
• Ricky Gervais should be the new Simon on American Idol
• Muscle SURPRISE! The key to physical, mental & emotional fitness
• I think my boyfriend's a snake...
• Release... Sweat & Power
• MY FAVORITE THINGS! - Vibram's Five Fingers
• Dick Morris... How do you sleep at night?
• Rusty DePass, Gorillas, and Obama, oh my!
• Michael Jackson - Troubled Genius

New Music
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Katie Strand Music

• To Make You Feel My Love
• Please Don't Leave Me
• Going To California
  
• Come Back
• Home

My Favorite Things...or how daily pleasures lead to greater contentment

This is the second My Favorite Things blog this week. Keep in mind though that I'm not endorsed (currently) by any product or Italian restaurant (Arrabiata recipe), and if I were, you all would know about it.

While taking my post-workout shower, I realized that one of My Favorite Things is my shampoo and conditioner. I use MSM by Ultra Aesthetics. Geesh this might be the girliest blog I've done yet! I'll try to top it in the near future with a blog on The Vagina Monologues or something. Anyway, about MSM and post-workout showers. Is there anything better than a shower just after an intense, dirty and sweaty workout? Seriously, they are so much better than normal showers. The only caveat is that today I felt like my legs were going to give-out because I played beach volleyball for my workout and running in sand always makes my legs a little mushy. So besides almost collapsing in said shower, it was fantastic.

Is this blog about My Favorite Thing being post-workout showers or my shampoo and conditioner? Well, since I'm the queen of this blog (with no king besides Papa Internet), and I make the rules, it's both.

MSM Shampoo and MSM Conditioner by Ultra Aesthetics. Never heard of it? Well, it's a bit obscure, but once you find it, you may never go back to other shampoo and conditioner.

I buy MSM shampoo & conditioner at my local neighbor Co-Op that has lots of healthy, organic, and alternative foods, supplements, and beauty products. Whole Foods may also carry it in certain locations, but you can also get it online at http://www.nourishingfoods.com/UltraAesthetics.html. Though I cannot vouch for their customer service or shipping. Other brands make their own version of MSM shampoo and conditioner, but I haven't tried them, so just check their ingredients and the integrity of the company.

Here are the reasons I like MSM Shampoo and Conditioner:

• The ingredients list is relatively short. Anyone who's read ingredients on hair-care or cosmetics knows the lists are not only lengthy, but also frighteningly unpronounceable. MSM's ingredients are mostly pronounceable.
  
• Beauty products are not regulated by the FDA on organic certification, so they can sort of set their own standards. While MSM doesn't claim to be organic, the ingredients are relatively benign and are not as chemical as other hair products I've used and researched.
  
• If you've ever been or know anyone who has been pregnant, doctors pretty unanimously tell expectant mothers to avoid dying their hair during pregnancy. Think about that for a moment. Anything that hurts the fetus hurts the mother, albeit in a reduced manner since adults immune systems are stronger. Still, with all the toxic exposure in most of our daily lives, it might be prudent to avoid toxins wherever we can, and although we're not dying our hair in this blog, if hair dye can seep through the scalp to potentially harm a fetus, it must wreak at least a little havoc on our systems too.
  
• It makes my hair strong.
• It makes my hair shiny.
• It smells delicious, but not too floral or feminine (as much as I love being a woman, I don't want to smell like one of those lotion and perfume stores - or as I like to say on my crasser days, I don't want to smell like a stripper). My attempt at describing the smell is some lovely blend of citrus, papaya, and some tropical flower that makes me want myself!
  

As for my hair. I really don't do much to my hair besides wash and condition it, and sometimes do old-fashioned pin curls when I feel like creating a curly-headed doppelganger of myself (which I typically do while watching a movie so I'm not sure it really counts as hair-doing). Since I added bangs to my hair (or rather, a skilled hairdresser added them), I blow-out my bangs. As far as the rest of my hair? I blow-dry it maybe 1-2 times per month. Also, besides shower-activities, I don't spend more than 5 minutes a day on my hair, average. So, I think I fall into the relatively low-maintenance category of hair-care. So the shampoo and conditioner counts, and I'm willing to spend a little more than the $2.99 cheap stuff at drug stores.

Here's why My Other Favorite Thing in this blog is my post-workout shower:

• It's like a warm and happy reward for working hard. (That sounds like another...more perverse job, doesn't it? Anyway, moving on.)
• Somehow it completes the workout for me. Like I don't feel done until I've showered and dried myself off. Sort of an exertion and cleanse ritual. (Did I just do it again?)
  
• Scrubbing muscles with hot, soapy water is the best after workout and I swear it acts to make me less sore. (I usually use an abrasive scrubber that was a gift from a very sweet man who had extremely soft skin, and believe me, it works. I think they're available at Asian markets which makes sense since the best scrub I've ever gotten was a from an angry woman at a Korean spa. Okay, maybe she wasn't all that angry, but she scrubbed me like she was.)
• The hot water and relaxation post-workout makes me a little drowsy and if I have the time, I get to take a nap (or go straight to bed depending on when I workout). Which is another one of my favorite things for another blog...Naps. Mmmmm.
  

Also, about both of the aforementioned Favorite Things, they're both simple and accessible daily pleasures. I think we all would do well to appreciate more life's daily pleasures. I know that's true for me when I get caught up (aka obsessed) about other, not-so-pleasurable things. Now ultimately, I'd like to attain the zen-state where virtually everything is pleasurable or at the very least, feel contentment in most things. But for now, I'll cultivate the daily pleasures in the pursuit of making everything...more contented.

That's it for now. Weigh-in. What are your daily pleasures?

More Interesting Katie Strand World Posts

• My Favorite Things...Arrabiata Recipe - Fresh, Organic, Vegan or Primal
  
• My Favorite Shows on Television...or how David Duchovney & Jesus are likely Good in Bed
  
• The Hawaiian Islands and Washington D.C.’s sand-paper circle-jerk about Health Care
  
• My Buddha has Termites...A Lesson in Infinite Joy
• The One-Date-Wonders!
• I had to learn SIGN LANGUAGE when I moved to Los Angeles
• Guys can make a game out of anything
• Hello? The power of CONNECTING and how technology has changed things
  
• Popping the question is better than porn!
• Bravo, Stephen Colbert & Co! and your Olympic Vancouverage
• Songwriting is like SEX
• Born To Run by Christopher McDougall - Inspiring a inspiring all of us to be more in the FLOW
• A moment of silence for all the plastic surgery ca...
• Ricky Gervais should be the new Simon on American Idol
• Muscle SURPRISE! The key to physical, mental & emotional fitness
• I think my boyfriend's a snake...
• Release... Sweat & Power
• MY FAVORITE THINGS! - Vibram's Five Fingers
• Dick Morris... How do you sleep at night?
• Rusty DePass, Gorillas, and Obama, oh my!
• Michael Jackson - Troubled Genius

New Music
&
Posts
at
Katie Strand Music

• Going To California
  
• Come Back
• Home