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Occam's razor and 1976 NFL draft: Difference between pages

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The '''[[1976 NFL season|1976]] [[National Football League]] [[NFL Draft|Draft]]''' annual player selection meeting results.
:''This article discusses the logical precept of Occam's Razor. For other (band-related) meanings, see [[Ockham's Razor (bands)]].''
{{Expand|date=March 2007}}
==Player selections==
{|
|-
|style="background-color:#FFCC00; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"|
|= [[Pro Bowl]]er
|}
===Round one===
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|1||[[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]]||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Lee Roy Selmon]]||[[Linebacker]]||[[University of Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]
|-
|align=center|2||[[Seattle Seahawks]]||[[Steve Niehaus]]||[[Defensive tackle|Defensive Tackle]]||[[University of Notre Dame|Notre Dame]]
|-
|align=center|3||[[New Orleans Saints]]||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Chuck Muncie]]||[[Running back|Running Back]]||[[University of California|California]]
|-
|align=center|4||[[San Diego Chargers]]||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Joe Washington]]||Running Back||Oklahoma
|-
|align=center|5||[[New England Patriots]]||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Mike Haynes (football)|Mike Haynes]]||[[Cornerback]]||Arizona State
|-
|align=center|6||[[New York Jets]]||[[Richard Todd (football player)|Richard Todd]]||[[Quarterback]]||Alabama
|-
|align=center|7||[[Cleveland Browns]]||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Mike Pruitt]]||Running Back||[[Purdue University|Purdue]]
|-
|align=center|8||[[Chicago Bears]]||[[Dennis Lick]]||[[Offensive tackle|Offensive Tackle]]||[[University of Wisconsin-Madison|Wisconsin]]
|-Running Back
|align=center|9||[[Atlanta Falcons]]||[[Bubba Bean]]||Running Back||[[Texas A&M University|Texas A&M]]
|-
|align=center|10||[[Detroit Lions]]||[[James Hunter (NFL)|James Hunter]]||[[Defensive back|Defensive Back]]||[[Grambling State University|Grambling]]
|-
|align=center|11||[[Cincinnati Bengals]]||[[Billy Brooks]]||[[Wide receiver|Wide Receiver]]||Oklahoma
|-
|align=center|12||New England Patriots||[[Pete Brock (American football)|Pete Brock]]||[[Center (American football)|Center]]||Colorado
|-
|align=center|13||[[New York Giants]]||[[Troy Archer]]||[[Defensive end|Defensive End]]||Colorado
|-
|align=center|14||[[Kansas City Chiefs]]||[[Wayne Walters]]||[[guard (American football)|Guard]]||[[Iowa State University|Iowa]]
|-
|align=center|15||[[Denver Broncos]]||[[Tom Glassic]]||Guard||Virginia
|-
|align=center|16||Detroit Lions||[[Lawrence Gaines]]||Running Back||[[University of Wyoming|Wyoming]]
|-
|align=center|17||[[Miami Dolphins]]||[[Larry Gordon]]||Linebacker||[[Arizona State University|Arizona State]]
|-
|align=center|18||[[Buffalo Bills]]||[[Mario Clark]]||Defensive Back||Oregon
|-
|align=center|19||Miami Dolphins||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Kim Bokamper]]||Linebacker||[[San José State University|San José State]]
|-
|align=center|20||[[Indianapolis Colts|Baltimore Colts]]||[[Ken Novak]]||Defensive Tackle||Purdue
|-
|align=center|21||New England Patriots||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Tim Fox]]||[[Safety (football position)|Safety]]||[[Ohio State University|Ohio State]]
|-
|align=center|22||[[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis Cardinals]]||[[Mike Dawson]]||Defensive Tackle||Arizona
|-
|align=center|23||[[Green Bay Packers]]||[[Mark Koncar]]||Offensive Tackle||Colorado
|-
|align=center|24||Cincinnati Bengals||[[Archie Griffin]]||Running Back||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|25||[[Minnesota Vikings]]||[[James White (football player)|James White]]||Defensive Tackle||[[Oklahoma State University System|Oklahoma State]]
|-
|align=center|26||[[St. Louis Rams|Los Angeles Rams]]||[[Kevin McLain]]||Linebacker||[[Colorado State University|Colorado State]]
|-
|align=center|27||[[Dallas Cowboys]]||[[Aaron Kyle]]||Defensive Back||Wyoming
|-
|align=center|28||[[Pittsburgh Steelers]]||[[Bennie Cunningham]]||[[Tight end|Tight End]]||[[Clemson University|Clemson]]
|}
 
===Round two===
'''Occam's Razor''' (also '''Ockham's Razor''' or any of several other spellings), is a principle attributed to the [[14th century]] English logician and [[Franciscan]] friar, [[William of Ockham]] that forms the basis of '''methodological reductionism'''.
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|29||Seattle Seahawks||Sammy Green|| -- ||[[University of Florida|Florida]]
|-
|align=center|30||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Jimmy Dubose|| -- ||Florida
|-
|align=center|31||San Diego Chargers||[[Don Macek]]|| -- ||Boston College
|-
|align=center|32||New Orleans Saints||[[Tony Galbreath]]|| -- ||Missouri
|-
|align=center|33||New York Jets||Shafer Suggs|| -- ||Ball State
|-
|align=center|34||[[Oakland Raiders]]||Charles Philyaw|| -- ||Texas Southern
|-
|align=center|35||New England Patriots||Ike Forte|| -- ||Arkansas
|-
|align=center|36||Atlanta Falcons||Sonny Collins|| -- ||Kentucky
|-
|align=center|37||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Ray Pinney]]|| -- ||Washington
|-
|align=center|38||Cincinnati Bengals||Glenn Bujnoch|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|39||Los Angeles Rams||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Pat Thomas]]|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|40||Dallas Cowboys||Jim Jensen|| -- ||Iowa
|-
|align=center|41||Kansas City Chiefs||Cliff Frazier|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|42||[[San Francisco 49ers]]||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Randy Cross]]|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|43||Denver Broncos||Kurt Knoff|| -- ||Kansas
|-
|align=center|44||Detroit Lions||Ken Long|| -- ||Purdue
|-
|align=center|45||Buffalo Bills||[[Ken Jones (American football)|Ken Jones]]|| -- ||Arkansas State
|-
|align=center|46||Detroit Lions||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[David Hill (tight end)|David Hill]]|| -- ||[[Texas A&M University|Texas A&I]]
|-
|align=center|47||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Mike Kruczek]]|| -- ||Boston College
|-
|align=center|48||[[Tennessee Titans|Houston Oilers]]||[[Mike Barber]]|| -- ||Louisiana Tech
|-
|align=center|49||Miami Dolphins||Loaird McCreary|| -- ||Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|50||Oakland Raiders||Jeb Blount|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|51||Cincinnati Bengals||[[Chris Bahr]]|| -- ||Penn State
|-
|align=center|52||Buffalo Bills||[[Joe Devlin (football player)|Joe Devlin]]|| -- ||Iowa
|-
|align=center|53||Los Angeles Rams||Ron McCartney|| -- ||[[University of Tennessee|Tennessee]]
|-
|align=center|54||Minnesota Vikings||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Sammy White (American football)|Sammy White]]|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|55||Dallas Cowboys||Jim Eidson|| -- ||Mississippi State
|-
|align=center|56||Pittsburgh Steelers||James Files|| -- ||McNeese State
|-
|align=center|57||San Francisco 49ers||Eddie Lewis|| -- ||Kansas
|-
|align=center|58||Seattle Seahawks||[[Sherman Smith]]|| -- ||Miami (OH)
|-
|align=center|59||Seattle Seahawks||[[Steve Raible]]|| -- ||Georgia Tech
|-
|align=center|60||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||[[Dewey Selmon]]|| -- ||Oklahoma
|}
 
===Round three===
==Numerous Ways of Expression==
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|61||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Steve Young|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|62||Seattle Seahawks||Jeff Lloyd|| -- ||West Texas State
|-
|align=center|63||Kansas City Chiefs||Keith Simons|| -- ||Minnesota
|-
|align=center|64||San Diego Chargers||Larry Dorsey|| -- ||Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|65||Cleveland Browns||[[Dave Logan (American football)|Dave Logan]]|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|66||Chicago Bears||[[Brian Baschnagel]]|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|67||New York Jets||[[Greg Buttle]]|| -- ||Penn State
|-
|align=center|68||Detroit Lions||Russ Bolinger|| -- ||Long Beach State
|-
|align=center|69||Cincinnati Bengals||[[Danny Reece]]|| -- ||USC
|-
|align=center|70||Pittsburgh Steelers||Ron Coder|| -- ||Penn State
|-
|align=center|71||Atlanta Falcons||Dave Scott|| -- ||Kansas
|-
|align=center|72||Green Bay Packers||[[Mike McCoy (defensive back)|Mike McCoy]]|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|73||Dallas Cowboys||Duke Ferguson|| -- ||San Diego State
|-
|align=center|74||Kansas City Chiefs||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Gary Barbaro]]|| -- ||[[Nicholls State University|Nicholls State]]
|-
|align=center|75||Dallas Cowboys||John Smith|| -- ||Boise State
|-
|align=center|76||Detroit Lions||John Woodcock|| -- ||Hawaii
|-
|align=center|77||New Orleans Saints||Bob Simmons|| -- ||Texas
|-
|align=center|78||Buffalo Bills||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Ben Williams (football player)|Ben Williams]]|| -- ||Mississippi
|-
|align=center|79||Kansas City Chiefs||[[Henry Marshall]]|| -- ||Missouri
|-
|align=center|80||Miami Dolphins||[[Duriel Harris]]|| -- ||[[New Mexico State University|New Mexico State]]
|-
|align=center|81||Baltimore Colts||Ed Simonini|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|82||Cincinnati Bengals||[[Reggie Williams (linebacker)|Reggie Williams]]|| -- ||Dartmouth
|-
|align=center|83||St. Louis Cardinals||[[Brad Oates]]|| -- ||[[Brigham Young University|Brigham Young]]
|-
|align=center|84||Oakland Raiders||Rik Bonness|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|85||Minnesota Vikings||[[Wes Hamilton]]|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|86||Los Angeles Rams||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Jackie Slater]]|| -- ||Jackson State
|-
|align=center|87||Dallas Cowboys||[[Butch Johnson]]|| -- ||California-Riverside
|-
|align=center|88||Pittsburgh Steelers||Ernest Pough|| -- ||Texas Southern
|-
|align=center|89||Seattle Seahawks||Rick Engles|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|90||Baltimore Colts||Ron Lee|| -- ||West Virginia
|-
|align=center|91||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Steve Maughan|| -- ||Utah State
|-
|align=center|92||Seattle Seahawks||Don Bitterlich|| -- ||Temple
|}
 
===Round four===
The principle is most often expressed as ''Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem'', or "Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity", but this sentence was written by later authors and is not found in Occam's surviving writings. William wrote, in [[Latin language|Latin]], ''Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate'', which translates literally into [[English language|English]] as "Plurality should not be posited without necessity".
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|93||Seattle Seahawks||Steve Myer|| -- ||New Mexico
|-
|align=center|94||Los Angeles Rams||Gerald Taylor|| -- ||Texas A&I
|-
|align=center|95||San Diego Chargers||Bob Horn|| -- ||Oregon State
|-
|align=center|96||New Orleans Saints||Tinker Owens|| -- ||Oklahoma
|-
|align=center|97||Cleveland Browns||Gene Swick|| -- ||Toledo
|-
|align=center|98||Miami Dolphins||Melvin Mitchell|| -- ||Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|99||Cleveland Browns||Richard St. Clair|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|100||San Francisco 49ers||Steve Rivera|| -- ||California
|-
|align=center|101||Green Bay Packers||Tom Perko|| -- ||Pittsburgh
|-
|align=center|102||Atlanta Falcons||Walt Brett|| -- ||Montana
|-
|align=center|103||Chicago Bears||[[John Sciarra|John M. Sciarra]]|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|104||New York Giants||Gordon Bell|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|105||New York Giants||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Harry Carson]]|| -- ||South Carolina State
|-
|align=center|106||Cincinnati Bengals||Tony Davis|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|107||Denver Broncos||Craig Penrose|| -- ||San Diego State
|-
|align=center|108||Chicago Bears||Wayne Rhodes|| -- ||Alabama
|-
|align=center|109||Buffalo Bills||Dan Jilek|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|110||Oakland Raiders||Herb McMath|| -- ||Morningside
|-
|align=center|111||[[Philadelphia Eagles]]||Mike Smith|| -- ||Florida
|-
|align=center|112||Pittsburgh Steelers||Wonder Monds|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|113||San Diego Chargers||Ron Singleton|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|114||St. Louis Cardinals||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Pat Tilley]]|| -- ||Louisiana Tech
|-
|align=center|115||San Diego Chargers||Artie Owens|| -- ||West Virginia
|-
|align=center|116||Cincinnati Bengals||Greg Fairchild|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|117||Houston Oilers||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Steve Largent]]|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|118||Minnesota Vikings||Leonard Willis|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|119||Dallas Cowboys||[[Tom Rafferty]]|| -- ||Penn State
|-
|align=center|120||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Theo Bell]]|| -- ||Arizona
|-
|align=center|121||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Richard Appleby|| -- ||Georgia
|-
|align=center|122||Seattle Seahawks||Randy Johnson|| -- ||Georgia
|-
|align=center|123||Seattle Seahawks||Andrew Bolton|| -- ||[[Fisk University|Fisk]]
|-
|align=center|124||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Everett Little|| -- ||Houston
|}
 
===Round five===
Dave Beckett of the [[University of Kent]] at [[Canterbury, England|Canterbury]] writes:
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
"The medieval rule of parsimony, or principle of economy, frequently used by Ockham came to be known as Ockham's razor." [http://wotug.ukc.ac.uk/parallel/www/occam/occam-bio.html]
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|125||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Michael Kelson|| -- ||West Texas State
|-
|align=center|126||Seattle Seahawks||Don Dufek|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|127||New Orleans Saints||Scott Parrish|| -- ||Utah State
|-
|align=center|128||Los Angeles Rams||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Carl Ekern]]|| -- ||San Jose State
|-
|align=center|129||New York Jets||Steve King|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|130||Cleveland Browns||Henry Sheppard|| -- ||Southern Methodist
|-
|align=center|131||San Diego Chargers||[[Woodrow Lowe]]|| -- ||Alabama
|-
|align=center|132||Green Bay Packers||Aundra Thompson|| -- ||East Texas State
|-
|align=center|133||Minnesota Vikings||Steve Wagner|| -- ||Wisconsin
|-
|align=center|134|| Baltimore Colts||[[Sanders Shiver]]|| -- ||Carson-Newman
|-
|align=center|135||Philadelphia Eagles||Greg Johnson|| -- ||Florida State
|-
|align=center|136||New York Giants||Melvin Wilson|| -- ||Cal State-Northridge
|-
|align=center|137||Kansas City Chiefs||Willie Lee|| -- ||[[Bethune-Cookman University|Bethune-Cookman]]
|-
|align=center|138||Cincinnati Bengals||Willie Shelby|| -- ||Alabama
|-
|align=center|139||Denver Broncos||Lonnie Perrin|| -- ||Illinois
|-
|align=center|140||San Francisco 49ers||Tony Leonard|| -- ||Virginia Union
|-
|align=center|141||St. Louis Cardinals||[[Wayne Morris (football player)|Wayne Morris]]|| -- ||Southern Methodist
|-
|align=center|142||Buffalo Bills||Fred Coleman|| -- ||N.E. Louisiana
|-
|align=center|143|| Baltimore Colts||Mike Kirkland|| -- ||Arkansas
|-
|align=center|144||Kansas City Chiefs||Jimbo Elrod|| -- ||Oklahoma
|-
|align=center|145||Detroit Lions||Steadman Scavella|| -- ||Miami (FL)
|-
|align=center|146||Oakland Raiders||[[Fred Steinfort]]|| -- ||Boston College
|-
|align=center|147||Cincinnati Bengals||Scott Perry|| -- ||Williams
|-
|align=center|148||Washington Redskins||Mike Hughes|| -- ||[[Baylor University|Baylor]]
|-
|align=center|149||Minnesota Vikings||Keith Barnette|| -- ||Boston College
|-
|align=center|150||Los Angeles Rams||Ken Bordelon|| -- ||Louisiana State
|-
|align=center|151||Dallas Cowboys||Wally Pesuit|| -- ||Kentucky
|-
|align=center|152||Pittsburgh Steelers||Rodney Norton|| -- ||[[Rice University|Rice]]
|-
|align=center|153||Seattle Seahawks||Ernie Jones|| -- ||Miami (FL)
|-
|align=center|154||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||[[Steve Wilson (offensive lineman)|Steve Wilson]]|| -- ||Georgia
|-
|align=center|155||Los Angeles Rams||Dwight Scales|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|156||Seattle Seahawks||Larry Bates|| -- ||Miami (FL)
|}
 
===Round six===
Occam's Razor has also been referred to as "parsimony of postulates" and the "principle of simplicity" and "[[KISS Principle|K.I.S.S." (keep it simple, stupid)]]. Another proverb expressing the idea that is often heard in medical schools is, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." Like many maxims, it has deficiencies; African doctors are not well advised to follow it.
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|157||Seattle Seahawks||Alvis Darby|| -- ||Florida
|-
|align=center|158||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||[[Curtis Jordan]]|| -- ||Texas Tech
|-
|align=center|159||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Gary Dunn]]|| -- ||Miami (FL)
|-
|align=center|160||New Orleans||[[Terry Stieve]]|| -- ||Wisconsin
|-
|align=center|161||Chicago Bears||[[Dan Jiggetts]]|| -- ||Harvard
|-
|align=center|162||New York Giants||Dan Lloyd|| -- ||Washington
|-
|align=center|163||New York Jets||Bob Martin|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|164||Buffalo Bills||Leslie Benson|| -- ||Baylor
|-
|align=center|165||Philadelphia Eagles||Kirk Johnson|| -- ||Howard Payne
|-
|align=center|166||Kansas City Chiefs||Steve Taylor|| -- ||Kansas
|-
|align=center|167||Kansas City Chiefs||Bob Gregolunas|| -- ||Northern Illinois
|-
|align=center|168||San Francisco 49ers||Robert Pennywell|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|169||Atlanta Falcons||Stan Varner|| -- ||Brigham Young
|-
|align=center|170||New England||Greg Boyd|| -- ||San Diego State
|-
|align=center|171||Buffalo Bills||Scott Piper|| -- ||Arizona
|-
|align=center|172||Kansas City Chiefs||Calvin Harper|| -- ||Illinois State
|-
|align=center|173||Houston Oilers||Todd Simonsen|| -- ||South Dakota State
|-
|align=center|174||Miami Dolphins||Gary Davis|| -- ||[[California Polytechnic State University|Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo]]
|-
|align=center|175||Buffalo Bills||Darnell Powell|| -- ||Tennessee-Chattanooga
|-
|align=center|176||Cincinnati Bengals||Orlando Nelson|| -- ||Utah State
|-
|align=center|177||San Francisco 49ers||Scott Bull|| -- ||Arkansas
|-
|align=center|178||San Diego Chargers||Calvin Lane|| -- ||Fresno State
|-
|align=center|179||Washington Redskins||Tom Marvaso|| -- ||Cincinnati
|-
|align=center|180||Minnesota Vikings||Terry Egerdahl|| -- ||Minnesota-Duluth
|-
|align=center|181||Dallas Cowboys||Greg McGuire|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|182||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Jack Deloplaine]]|| -- ||Salem
|}
 
===Round seven===
A re-statement of Occam's Razor, in more formal terms, is provided by [[information theory]] in the form of [[minimum message length]].
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|183||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Parnell Dickinson|| -- ||[[Mississippi Valley State University|Mississippi Valley State]]
|-
|align=center|184||Seattle Seahawks||Dick Dixon|| -- ||Arkansas State
|-
|align=center|185||Miami Dolphins||Joe ingersoll|| -- ||UNLV
|-
|align=center|186||Dallas Cowboys||Greg Schaum|| -- ||Michigan State
|-
|align=center|187||Cincinnati Bengals||Bob Bateman|| -- ||Brown
|-
|align=center|188||New York Jets||Abdul (Larry) Salaam|| -- ||[[Kent State University|(Faulk) Kent State]]
|-
|align=center|189||Cleveland||Steve Cassidy|| -- ||Louisiana State
|-
|align=center|190||Chicago Bears||Jerry Muckenstrum|| -- ||Arkansas State
|-
|align=center|191||Philadelphia Eagles||[[Carl Hairston]]|| -- ||Maryland-Eastern Shore
|-
|align=center|192||Cincinnati Bengals||Carmen Rome|| -- ||Miami (OH)
|-
|align=center|193||Atlanta Falcons||Karl Farmer|| -- ||Pittsburgh
|-
|align=center|194||San Francisco 49ers||Jay Chesley|| -- ||Vanderbilt
|-
|align=center|195||Buffalo Bills||Jackie Williams|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|196||Kansas City Chiefs||Rod Wellington|| -- ||Iowa
|-
|align=center|197||Houston Oilers||Larry Harris|| -- ||Oklahoma State
|-
|align=center|198||Detroit Lions||Garth Ten Napel|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|199||New York Jets||James Richards|| -- ||Florida
|-
|align=center|200||Miami Dolphins||John Owens|| -- ||Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|201||New Orleans||Ed Bauer|| -- ||Notre Dame
|-
|align=center|202||New England||Perry Brooks|| -- ||Southern
|-
|align=center|203||St. Louis Cardinals||Phil Rogers|| -- ||Virginia Tech
|-
|align=center|204||Oakland Raiders||Clarence Chapman|| -- ||Eastern Michigan
|-
|align=center|205||Cincinnati Bengals||Ken Kuhn|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|206||Minnesota Vikings||Larry Brune|| -- ||Rice
|-
|align=center|207||Los Angeles Rams||Larry Buie|| -- ||Mississippi State
|-
|align=center|208||Dallas Cowboys||David Williams|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|209||Pittsburgh Steeler||Barry Burton|| -- ||Vanderbilt
|}
===Round eight===
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|210||Seattle Seahawks||Larry Shipp|| -- ||Louisiana State
|-
|align=center|211||New York Jets||Joe Davis|| -- ||USC
|-
|align=center|212||San Diego Chargers||Tony DiRienzo|| -- ||Oklahoma
|-
|align=center|213||New Orleans||Craig Cassady|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|214||New York Jets||[[Louie Giammona]]|| -- ||Utah State
|-
|align=center|215||Buffalo Bills||Scott Gardner|| -- ||Virginia
|-
|align=center|216||Philadelphia Eagles||Richard LaFargue|| -- ||Arkansas
|-
|align=center|217||Detroit Lions||Rich Sorenson|| -- ||Chico State
|-
|align=center|218||Green Bay||Jim Burrow|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|219||Atlanta Falcons||Frank Reed|| -- ||Washington
|-
|align=center|220||Oakland Raiders||Jerome Dove|| -- ||Colorado State
|-
|align=center|221||New York Giants||John Jordan|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|222||Kansas City Chiefs||Orrin Olsen|| -- ||Brigham Young
|-
|align=center|223||San Francisco 49ers||[[John Ayers]]|| -- ||West Texas State
|-
|align=center|224||Denver Broncos||James Betterson|| -- ||North Carolina
|-
|align=center|225||Detroit Lions||Charles Braswell|| -- ||West Virginia
|-
|align=center|226||Buffalo Bills||Bobby Joe|| -- ||Easter Middle Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|227||Buffalo Bills||Art Meadowcroft|| -- ||Minnesota
|-
|align=center|228|| Baltimore Colts||Ricky Thompson|| -- ||Baylor
|-
|align=center|229||Houston Oilers||Bobby Simon|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|230||Miami Dolphins||Bob Simpson|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|231||Oakland Raiders||Terry Kunz|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|232||Cincinnati Bengals||Ron Hunt|| -- ||Oregon
|-
|align=center|233||St. Louis Cardinals||Randall Burks|| -- ||SE Oklahoma State
|-
|align=center|234||Washington Redskins||Bryan Fryer|| -- ||Alberta
|-
|align=center|235||New England||Stu Betts|| -- ||Northern Michigan
|-
|align=center|236||Dallas Cowboys||Henry Laws|| -- ||South Carolina
|-
|align=center|237||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Ed McAleney]]|| -- ||Massachusetts
|}
 
===Round nine===
Another variant of this law is ''Thargola's Sword'' from [[Nightfall]], (originally a short story by [[Isaac Asimov]] and later expanded to a novel in conjunction with [[Robert Silverberg]]):
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
"We must drive a sword through any hypothesis that is not strictly necessary".
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|238||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Bruce Welch|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|239||Seattle Seahawks||Bob Bos|| -- ||Iowa State
|-
|align=center|240||New Orleans||Warren Peiffer|| -- ||Iowa
|-
|align=center|241||Buffalo Bills||Jeff Turner|| -- ||Kansas
|-
|align=center|242||Cleveland||James Reed|| -- ||Mississippi
|-
|align=center|243||New England||Doug Beaudoin|| -- ||Minnesota
|-
|align=center|244||New York Jets||Ronnie Moore|| -- ||Virginia Military Inst.
|-
|align=center|245||Green Bay||Jim Gueno|| -- ||[[Tulane University|Tulane]]
|-
|align=center|246||Atlanta Falcons||[[Phil McKinnely]]|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|247||Philadelphia Eagles||Mike Hogan|| -- ||Tennessee-Chattanooga
|-
|align=center|248||Philadelphia Eagles||Richad Osborne|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|249||Kansas City Chiefs||Tim Collier|| -- ||East Texas State
|-
|align=center|250||San Francisco 49ers||Ken Harrison|| -- ||Southern Methodist
|-
|align=center|251||San Diego Chargers||Glynn Harrison|| -- ||Georgia
|-
|align=center|252||Denver Broncos||Jim Czirr|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|253||Detroit Lions||Leanell Jones|| -- ||Long Beach State
|-
|align=center|254||Washington Redskins||Curtis Akins|| -- ||Hawaii
|-
|align=center|255||Buffalo Bills||Bob Kotzur|| -- ||Southwest Texas State
|-
|align=center|256||Houston Oilers||Art Stringer|| -- ||Ball State
|-
|align=center|257||Miami Dolphins||[[Norris Thomas]]|| -- ||Southern Mississippi
|-
|align=center|258|| Baltimore Colts||Stu Levenick|| -- ||Illinois
|-
|align=center|259||Cincinnati Bengals||Lonnie Allgood||Wide Receiver||Syracuse
|-
|align=center|260||Denver Broncos||Jim Lisko|| -- ||Arkansas State
|-
|align=center|261||Cleveland Browns||Craig Nagel|| -- ||Purdue
|-
|align=center|262||Minnesota Vikings||Isaac Hagins|| -- ||Southern
|-
|align=center|263||Los Angeles Rams||Jeb Church|| -- ||Stanford
|-
|align=center|264||Dallas Cowboys||[[Beasley Reece]]|| -- ||[[University of North Texas|North Texas State]]
|-
|align=center|265||Pittsburgh Steelers||Wentford Gaines|| -- ||Cincinnati
|}
 
===Round ten===
Occam's Razor is nowadays usually stated as follows:
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|266||Seattle Seahawks||Randy Coffield|| -- ||Florida State
|-
|align=center|267||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Sid Smith|| -- ||Brigham Young
|-
|align=center|268||San Diego Chargers||Jeff Perlinger|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|269||New Orleans Saints||Junior Hardin|| -- ||Eastern Kentucky
|-
|align=center|270||New England||Ricky Feacher|| -- ||Mississippi Valley State
|-
|align=center|271||Cleveland Browns||Doug Kleber|| -- ||Illinois
|-
|align=center|272||Washington Redskins||Paul Strohmeier|| -- ||Washington
|-
|align=center|273||Philadelphia Eagles||Herb Lusk|| -- ||Long Beach State
|-
|align=center|274||Green Bay Packers||Jessie Green|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|275||San Francisco 49ers||Robin Ross|| -- ||Washington State
|-
|align=center|276||New York Giants||John Thomas|| -- ||Valley City (ND)
|-
|align=center|277||Kansas City Chiefs||Whitney Paul|| -- ||Colorado
|-
|align=center|278||Denver Broncos||Art Gilliam|| -- ||Grambling
|-
|align=center|279||Detroit Lions||Bill Bowerman|| -- ||New Mexico State
|-
|align=center|280||Buffalo Bills||Keith Moody|| -- ||Syracuse
|-
|align=center|281||Miami Dolphins||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Gary Fencik]]|| -- ||[[Yale University|Yale]]
|-
|align=center|282||Miami Dolphins||Don Testerman|| -- ||Clemson
|-
|align=center|283|| Baltimore Colts||Tim Baylor|| -- ||[[Morgan State University|Morgan State]]
|-
|align=center|284||Houston Oilers||Steve Kincannon|| -- ||[[Humboldt State University|Humboldt State]]
|-
|align=center|285||St. Louis Cardinals||Randy Walker|| -- ||Bethune-Cookman
|-
|align=center|286||Oakland Raiders||Dwight Lewis|| -- ||Purdue
|-
|align=center|287||Cincinnati Bengals||Tom Klaban|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|288||Los Angeles Rams||Freeman Johns|| -- ||Southern Methodist
|-
|align=center|289||Minnesota Vikings||Bill Salmon|| -- ||Northern Iowa
|-
|align=center|290||Dallas Cowboys||Leroy Cook|| -- ||Alabama
|-
|align=center|291||Pittsburgh Steelers||Gary Campbell|| -- ||Colorado
|}
 
===Round eleven===
:"Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the [[simplicity|simpler]] one is to be preferred."
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
When that is ambiguous, [[Isaac Newton]]'s version may be better:
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
:"We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances."
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|292||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Melvin Washington|| -- ||Colorado State
|-
|align=center|293||Seattle Seahawks||Keith Muehr|| -- ||Southwestern Louisiana
|-
|align=center|294||New Orleans Saints||Greg Kokal|| -- ||Kent State
|-
|align=center|295||San Diego Chargers||[[Raymond Preston|Ray Preston]]|| -- ||Syracuse
|-
|align=center|296||New York Jets||Lawrence Pillers|| -- ||[[Alcorn State University|Alcorn State]]
|-
|align=center|297||Cleveland Browns||Chuck Celek|| -- ||Kent State
|-
|align=center|298||New England Patriots||Donnie Thomas|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|299||Chicago Bears||Norman Andersen|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|300||Philadelphia Eagles||Mike Gilbert|| -- ||San Diego State
|-
|align=center|301||Green Bay Packers||Curtis Leak|| -- ||Johnson C. Smith
|-
|align=center|302||Atlanta Falcons||Chuck Brislin|| -- ||Mississippi State
|-
|align=center|303||New York Giants||Craig Brantley|| -- ||Clemson
|-
|align=center|304||Kansas City Chiefs||Bob Squires|| -- ||Hastings
|-
|align=center|305||San Francisco 49ers||Paul Hofer|| -- ||Mississippi
|-
|align=center|306||Denver Broncos||Greg Pittman|| -- ||Iowa State
|-
|align=center|307||Detroit Lions||Gary Shugrue|| -- ||[[Villanova University|Villanova]]
|-
|align=center|308||Washington Redskins||Dean Gissler|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|309||Buffalo Bills||Forry Smith|| -- ||Iowa State
|-
|align=center|310|| Baltimore Colts||Rick Gibney|| -- ||Georgia Tech
|-
|align=center|311||Houston Oilers||Skip Walker|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|312||Miami Dolphins||Dexter Pride|| -- ||Minnesota
|-
|align=center|313||Oakland Raiders||Rich Jennings|| -- ||Maryland
|-
|align=center|314||Cincinnati Bengals||Melvin Morgan|| -- ||Mississippi Valley State
|-
|align=center|315||St. Louis Cardinals||Marty Akins|| -- ||Texas
|-
|align=center|316||Minnesota Vikings||Steve Kracher|| -- ||Montana State
|-
|align=center|317||Los Angeles Rams||Brian Nemeth|| -- ||South Carolina
|-
|align=center|318||Dallas Cowboys||Cornelius Greene|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|319||Pittsburgh Steelers||Rolland Fuchs|| -- ||Arkansas
|}
 
===Round twelve===
In modern usage, "true" may best be taken to mean "well established", and "simple" or "simplicity" is used to mean "fits in best with available facts and possibilities, with the least needed assumptions".
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|320||Seattle Seahawks||Ron Barnett|| -- ||Texas-Arlington
|-
|align=center|321||Tampa Bay Buccaneers ||George Ragsdale|| -- ||North Carolina A&T
|-
|align=center|322||San Diego Chargers||Ron Lee|| -- ||Oregon
|-
|align=center|323||New Orleans Saints||Milton Butts|| -- ||North Carolina Central
|-
|align=center|324||Houston Oilers||Larry Bell|| -- ||East Texas State
|-
|align=center|325||New England Patriots||Nathaniel Bell|| -- ||Tulane
|-
|align=center|326||New York Jets||Don Buckey|| -- ||[[North Carolina State University|North Carolina State]]
|-
|align=center|327||New York Jets||Dave Buckey|| -- ||North Carolina State
|-
|align=center|328||Green Bay Packers||[[Mel Jackson (American football)|Mel Jackson]]|| -- ||USC
|-
|align=center|329||Atlanta Falcons||Pat Bolton|| -- ||Montana State
|-
|align=center|330||Chicago Bears||John O'Leary|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|331||Kansas City Chiefs||Harold Porter|| -- ||Southwestern Louisiana
|-
|align=center|332||San Francisco 49ers||Gerald Loper|| -- ||Florida
|-
|align=center|333||New York Giants||Jerry Golsteyn|| -- ||Northern Illinois
|-
|align=center|334||Denver Broncos||Randy Moore|| -- ||Arizona State
|-
|align=center|335||Detroit Lions||Mike McCabe|| -- ||South Carolina
|-
|align=center|336||Buffalo Bills||Joe Lowery|| -- ||Jackson State
|-
|align=center|337||Washington Redskins||Walter Tullis|| -- ||Delaware State
|-
|align=center|338||San Diego Chargers||Herman Harris|| -- ||Mississippi Valley State
|-
|align=center|339||Miami Dolphins||Randy Young|| -- ||Iowa State
|-
|align=center|340||Baltimore Colts||Frank Stavroff|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|341||Cincinnati Bengals||Joe Dale Harris|| -- ||Alabama
|-
|align=center|342||Miami Dolphins||Darryl Brandford|| -- ||Northwestern
|-
|align=center|343||Oakland Raiders||[[Cedric Brown]]|| -- ||Kent State
|-
|align=center|344||Los Angeles Rams||Jim Jodat|| -- ||Carthage
|-
|align=center|345||Minnesota Vikings||Robert Sparks|| -- ||San Francisco State
|-
|align=center|346||Dallas Cowboys||Charles McShane|| -- ||California-Lutheran
|-
|align=center|347||Pittsburgh Steelers||Bill Carroll|| -- ||East Texas State
|}
 
===Round thirteen===
For over forty formulations of Occam's Razor see the Miscelaneous section at http://occamssword.com
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|348||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||[[Brad Jenkins]]|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|349||Seattle Seahawks||[[Andy Reid]]|| -- ||Georgia
|-
|align=center|350||New Orleans Saints||[[Kenny Downing]]|| -- ||Missouri
|-
|align=center|351||San Diego Chargers||[[John Lee]]|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|352||New England Patriots||[[James Jones]]|| -- ||Central Michigan
|-
|align=center|353||Philadelphia Eagles||[[Terry Tautolo]]|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|354||Cleveland Browns||[[Brian Murray]]|| -- ||Arizona
|-
|align=center|355||Green Bay Packers||[[Bradley Bowman]]|| -- ||Southern Mississippi
|-
|align=center|356||Atlanta Falcons||[[Mike Williams]]|| -- ||Florida
|-
|align=center|357||Chicago Bears||[[Dale Kasowski]]|| -- ||North Dakota
|-
|align=center|358||Philadelphia Eagles||[[Steve Ebbecke]]|| -- ||Villanova
|-
|align=center|359||San Francisco 49ers||[[Larry Brumfield]]|| -- ||Indiana State
|-
|align=center|360||New York Giants||[[Rick Caswell]]|| -- ||Western Kentucky
|-
|align=center|361||Kansas City Chiefs||[[Joe Bruner]]|| -- ||N.E. Louisiana
|-
|align=center|362||Denver Broncos||[[Donnie McGraw]]|| -- ||Houston
|-
|align=center|363||Detroit Lions||[[Mel Jacobs]]|| -- ||San Diego State
|-
|align=center|364||Washington Redskins||[[Waymon Britt]]|| -- ||Michigan
|-
|align=center|365||Buffalo Bills||[[Will Wilcox]]|| -- ||Texas
|-
|align=center|366||Miami Dolphins||[[Bernie Head]]|| -- ||Tulsa
|-
|align=center|367||Oakland Raiders||[[Craig Crnick]]|| -- ||Idaho
|-
|align=center|368||Houston Oilers||[[Dan O'Rourke]]|| -- ||Colorado State
|-
|align=center|369||St. Louis Cardinals||[[Greg Brewton]]|| -- ||Michigan State
|-
|align=center|370||Oakland Raiders||[[Mark Young]]|| -- ||Washington State
|-
|align=center|371||Cincinnati Bengals||[[Randy Walker]]|| -- ||Miami (OH)
|-
|align=center|372||Minnesota Vikings||[[Gary Paulson]]|| -- ||Colorado State
|-
|align=center|373||Los Angeles Rams||[[Steve Hamilton]]|| -- ||Emporia State
|-
|align=center|374||Dallas Cowboys||[[Mark Driscoll]]|| -- ||Colorado State
|-
|align=center|375||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Larry Kain]]|| -- ||Ohio State
|}
 
===Round fourteen===
== Famous Philosophers and Scientists who have used or discussed Occam's Razor ==
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|376||Seattle Seahawks||Jarvis Blinks|| -- ||Northwest Louisiana
|-
|align=center|377||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Carl Roaches|| -- ||Texas A&M
|-
|align=center|378||San Diego Chargers||Ed Jones|| -- ||Cincinnati
|-
|align=center|379||New Orleans Saints||Rich Hucke|| -- ||Western Montana
|-
|align=center|380||New York Jets||Al Gluchoski|| -- ||West Virginia
|-
|align=center|381||Cleveland Browns||Joe Smalzer|| -- ||Illinois
|-
|align=center|382||New England Patriots||David Quehl|| -- ||Holy Cross
|-
|align=center|383||Atlanta Falcons||Mark Husfloen|| -- ||Washington State
|-
|align=center|384||Chicago Bears||Ron Cuie|| -- ||Oregon State
|-
|align=center|385||Philadelphia Eagles||Melvin Shy|| -- ||Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|386||Green Bay Packers||John Henson|| -- ||Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
|-
|align=center|387||New York Giants||Jerry Mullane|| -- ||Lehigh
|-
|align=center|388||Kansas City Chiefs||Rick Thurman|| -- ||Texas
|-
|align=center|389||San Francisco 49ers||Johnny Miller|| -- ||[[Livingstone College]]
|-
|align=center|390||Denver Broncos||Larry Evans|| -- ||Mississippi College
|-
|align=center|391||Detroit Lions||Leonard Elston|| -- ||Kentucky State
|-
|align=center|392||Buffalo Bills||Tony Williams|| -- ||Middle Tennessee State
|-
|align=center|393||Washington Redskins||Quinn Buckner|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|394||Baltimore Colts||Jeremiah Cummings|| -- ||Albany State
|-
|align=center|395||Houston Oilers||John Reimer|| -- ||Wisconsin
|-
|align=center|396||Miami Dolphins||Bob Gissler|| -- ||South Dakota State
|-
|align=center|397||Oakland Raiders||Calvin Young|| -- ||Fresno State
|-
|align=center|398||Cincinnati Bengals||Greg Coleman|| -- ||Florida A&M
|-
|align=center|399||St. Louis Cardinals||Raymond Crosier|| -- ||[[Abilene Christian University|Abilene Christian]]
|-
|align=center|400||Los Angeles Rams||Al Burleson|| -- ||Washington
|-
|align=center|401||Minnesota Vikings||Jeff Stapleton|| -- ||Purdue
|-
|align=center|402||Dallas Cowboys||Larry Mushinskie|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|403||Pittsburgh Steelers||Wayne Field|| -- ||Florida
|}
 
===Round fifteen===
See Subject Guide at http://occamssword.com for bibliographies related to philosophers and scientists who have used or discussed Occam's Razor
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|404||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Bob Dzierzak|| -- ||Utah State
|-
|align=center|405||Seattle Seahawks||Dan Smith|| -- ||Washington State
|-
|align=center|406||New Orleans Saints||Steve Seminoff|| -- ||Wichita State
|-
|align=center|407||San Diego Chargers||Jack Hoffman|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|408||Cleveland Browns||Luther Philyaw|| -- ||Loyola (CA)
|-
|align=center|409||New England Patriots||Bernard Coleman|| -- ||Bethune-Cookman
|-
|align=center|410||New York Jets||Rick Faulk|| -- ||San Francisco State
|-
|align=center|411||Chicago Bears||Jerry Meyers|| -- ||Northern Illinois
|-
|align=center|412||Philadelphia Eagles||Brett White|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|413||Green Bay Packers||Jerry Dandridge|| -- ||[[University of Memphis|Memphis State]]
|-
|align=center|414||Atlanta Falcons||Ron Olson|| -- ||Washington
|-
|align=center|415||Kansas City Chiefs||Dave Rozumek|| -- ||New Hampshire
|-
|align=center|416||San Francisco 49ers||Howard Stidham|| -- ||Tennessee Tech
|-
|align=center|417||New York Giants||Eddie Morgan|| -- ||Arkansas State
|-
|align=center|418||Denver Broncos||Wilbur Summers|| -- ||Louisville
|-
|align=center|419||Detroit Lions||Trent Smock|| -- ||Indiana
|-
|align=center|420||St. Louis Cardinals||[[Lee Nelson (football player)|Lee Nelson]]|| -- ||Florida State
|-
|align=center|421||Buffalo Bills||Arnold Robinson|| -- ||Bethune-Cookman
|-
|align=center|422||Houston Oilers||Bobby Byars|| -- ||Cheyney (PA)
|-
|align=center|423||Miami Dolphins||Ron Holmes|| -- ||Utah State
|-
|align=center|424||Baltimore Colts||Gary Alexander|| -- ||Clemson
|-
|align=center|425||Cincinnati Bengals||Lynn Hieber|| -- ||Indiana (PA)
|-
|align=center|426||Washington Redskins||John Monroe|| -- ||Bluefield State
|-
|align=center|427||Oakland Raiders||Carl Hargrave|| -- ||Upper Iowa
|-
|align=center|428||Minnesota Vikings||Ron Groce|| -- ||Macalester
|-
|align=center|429||Los Angeles Rams||Malcolm Campbell|| -- ||Cal State-Los Angeles
|-
|align=center|430||Dallas Cowboys||Dale Curry|| -- ||UCLA
|-
|align=center|431||Pittsburgh Steelers||Mel Davis|| -- ||North Texas State
|}
 
===Round sixteen===
== History of Occam's Razor ==
<!-- Please eliminate use of abbreviations for a more encyclopedic article -->
<!-- Please watch case on positions to avoid redirects -->
{|class="wikitable sortable sortable" style="width: 100%"
|-
!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=6%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
|-
|align=center|432||Seattle Seahawks||Jeff Urczyk|| -- ||Georgia Tech
|-
|align=center|433||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Tommy West|| -- ||Tennessee
|-
|align=center|434||San Diego Chargers||Jack Harrison|| -- ||California
|-
|align=center|435||New Orleans Saints||Gene Jones|| -- ||Bowling Green
|-
|align=center|436||New England Patriots||Clifford Brown|| -- ||Tuskegee
|-
|align=center|437||New York Jets||James Godwin|| -- ||Fayetteville
|-
|align=center|438||Cleveland Browns||Chris Lorenzen|| -- ||Arizona State
|-
|align=center|439||Philadelphia Eagles||Steve Campassi|| -- ||Kentucky
|-
|align=center|440||Green Bay Packers||Mike Timmermans|| -- ||Northern Iowa
|-
|align=center|441||Atlanta Falcons||Pat Curto|| -- ||Ohio State
|-
|align=center|442||Chicago Bears||Ronald Parker|| -- ||Texas Christian
|-
|align=center|443||San Francisco 49ers||Reggie Lewis|| -- ||San Diego State
|-
|align=center|444||New York Giants||David Lawson|| -- ||Air Force
|-
|align=center|445||Kansas City Chiefs||Dennis Anderson|| -- ||Arizona
|-
|align=center|446||Denver Broncos||John Huddleston|| -- ||Utah
|-
|align=center|447||Detroit Lions||Craig McCurdy|| -- ||William & Mary
|-
|align=center|448||Buffalo Bills||Gary Gorrell|| -- ||Boise State
|-
|align=center|449|| Baltimore Colts||Mike Fuhrman|| -- ||Memphis State
|-
|align=center|450||Miami Dolphins||Mike Green|| -- ||Ohio
|-
|align=center|451|| Baltimore Colts||Steve Ludwig|| -- ||Miami (FL)
|-
|align=center|452||Houston Oilers||Claude Johnson|| -- ||Florida A&M
|-
|align=center|453||St. Louis Cardinals||Cecil Beaird|| -- ||Fisk
|-
|align=center|454||Oakland Raiders||[[Doug Hogan]]|| -- ||USC
|-
|align=center|455||Cincinnati Bengals||George Demopoulis|| -- ||Miami (FL)
|-
|align=center|456||Los Angeles Rams||Rick Gage|| -- ||Arkansas Tech
|-
|align=center|457||Minnesota Vikings||Randy Hickel|| -- ||Montana State
|-
|align=center|458||Dallas Cowboys||Rick Costanzo|| -- ||Nebraska
|-
|align=center|459||Pittsburgh Steelers||Randy Butts|| -- ||Kearney State
|}
 
===Round seventeen===
William of Ockham(1287-1347) is usually given credit for formulating the razor that bears his name which is typically phrased "entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity." In Latin, the language used by William, it would be "entia non sunt multiplicanda preaeter necessitatem" but this phrase does not appear in any of his extant writings. It is not until 1639 that this phrasing was coined by John Ponce of Cork. There are a variety of similar phrases such as "frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora", non est ponenda pluritas sine necessitate", and "si duae res sufficient ad ejus veritatem, superfluum est ponere aliam (tertiam) rem" that do. These translate as "in vain we do by many which can be done by means of fewer", "pluralities ought not be supposed without necessity", and "if two things are sufficient for the purpose of truth, it is superfluous to suppose another" respectively. The origins of what has come to be known as Occam's razor is traceable to the works of earlier philosophers such as John Duns Scotus (1265-1308) and even as early as Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). Even the name 'Occam's Razor' was unknown to William. This phrase does not appear until the 19th century in the works of Sir William Hamilton(1805-1865). It is perhaps how often and effectively he used it that accounts for its association with Ockham. See Roger Ariew's dissertation of 1976, Ockham's Razor: A Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Ockham's Principle of Parsimony.
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!style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=8%|Pick # !!width=40% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|NFL Team !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Player !!width=14% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|Position !!width=20% style="background:#A8BDEC;"|College
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|align=center|460||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||[[Jack Berry]]|| -- ||Washington & Lee
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|align=center|461||Seattle Seahawks||[[Chris Rowland]]|| -- ||Washington
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|align=center|462||New Orleans Saints||[[Scott MacDonald (athlete)|Scott MacDonald]]|| -- ||West Virginia
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|align=center|463||San Diego Chargers||[[Clarence Sanders]]|| -- ||Cincinnati
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|align=center|464||New York Jets||[[Darwin Willie]]|| -- ||Tulane
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|align=center|465||Cleveland Browns||[[Tom Fleming]]|| -- ||Dartmouth
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|align=center|466||New England Patriots||[[Todd Anderson]]|| -- ||Stanford
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|align=center|467||Green Bay Packers||Ray Hall|| -- ||Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
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|align=center|468||Atlanta Falcons||Tony Green|| -- ||Texas Tech
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|align=center|469||Chicago Bears||[[Mike Malham]]|| -- ||Arkansas State
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|align=center|470||Philadelphia Eagles||[[Anthony Terry]]|| -- ||California-Davis
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|align=center|471||New York Giants||[[Steve Curnutte]]|| -- ||Vanderbilt
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|align=center|472||Kansas City Chiefs||[[Pat McNeil]]|| -- ||Baylor
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|align=center|473||San Francisco 49ers||[[Darryl Jenkins]]|| -- ||San Jose State
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|align=center|474||Denver Broncos||[[Randy Cozens]]|| -- ||Pittsburgh
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|align=center|475||Detroit Lions||[[Jim Meeks]]|| -- ||Boise State
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|align=center|476||Washington Redskins||[[Chuck Wills]]|| -- ||Oregon
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|align=center|477||Buffalo Bills||Bob Berg|| -- ||New Mexico
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|align=center|478||Oakland Raiders||Buddy Tate|| -- ||Tulsa
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|align=center|479||Houston Oilers||[[Allen Misher]]|| -- ||Louisiana State
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|align=center|480||Miami Dolphins||[[Jeff Grantz]]|| -- ||South Carolina
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|align=center|481||Oakland Raiders||[[Nate Beasley]]|| -- ||Delaware
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|align=center|482||Cincinnati Bengals||[[Scott Dannelley]]|| -- ||Ohio State
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|align=center|483||St. Louis Cardinals||[[Dan Myers]]|| -- ||Georgia Tech
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|align=center|484||Minnesota Vikings||[[Dick Lukowski]]|| -- ||West Virginia
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|align=center|485||Los Angeles Rams||Gary Shaw|| -- ||Brigham Young
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|align=center|486||Dallas Cowboys||[[Stan Woodfill]]|| -- ||Oregon
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|align=center|487||Pittsburgh Steelers||[[Kelvin Kirk]]|| -- ||Dayton
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|= Pro Bowler
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==[[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers]]==
== Science and Occam's Razor ==
*Lee Roy Selmon, Defensive End, Oklahoma -- taken 1st round, 1st overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Inducted in 1995.
*Mike Haynes, Cornerback, Arizona State -- taken 1st round, 5th overall by the New England Patriots. Inducted in 1997.
*Jackie Slater, Ofensive Tackle, Jackson State -- taken 3rd round, 86th overall by the Los Angeles Rams. Inducted in 2001.
*Harry Carson, Linebacker, South Carolina State - taken 4th round, 105th overall by the New York Giants. Inducted in 2006.
*Steve Largent, Wide Receiver, Tulsa - taken 4th round, 117th overall by the Houston Oilers. Inducted in 1995.
 
{{NFL drafts}}
Occam's Razor has become a basic perspective for those who follow the [[scientific method]]. It is important to note that it is a [[heuristic argument]] that does not necessarily give correct answers; it is a loose guide to choosing the scientific hypothesis which (currently) contains the least number of unproven assumptions and is the most likely to be fruitful. Often, several hypotheses are equally "simple" and Occam's Razor does not express any preference in such cases.
[[Category:National Football League Draft]]
[[Category:1976 in American football|NFL Draft]]
 
{{Americanfootball-draft-stub}}
For example, after a storm you notice that a tree has fallen. Based on the evidence of "a storm" and "a fallen tree" a reasonable hypothesis would be that "the storm blew down the tree" -- a hypothesis that requires only one assumption -- that it was, in fact, a strong wind that knocked over the tree, rather than a meteor or an elephant. The hypothesis that "the tree was knocked over by marauding 200 meter tall space aliens" requires several additional assumptions (concerning the very existence of aliens, their ability and desire to travel interstellar distances and the alien biology that allows them to be 200 meters tall in terrestrial gravity) and is therefore less preferable.
 
Occam's Razor is ''not'' equivalent to the idea that "perfection is simplicity". [[Albert Einstein]] probably had this in mind when he wrote in 1933 that "The supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience" often paraphrased as "Theories should be as simple as possible, ''but no simpler''." It often happens that the best explanation is much more complicated than the simplest possible explanation because it requires fewer assumptions. Some people have oversimplified Occam's Razor as "The simplest explanation is the best (or true) one".
 
There are two senses in which Occam's razor can been seen at work in the history of science. One is ontological reduction by elimination and the other is by intertheoretic competion. In the former case the following are examples of reduction by elimination: The impetus of Aristotelian Physics, the angelic motors of medieval celestial mechanics, the four humors of ancient and medieval medicine,demonic possesion as an explanation of mental illness, Phlogiston from premodern chemistry, and vital spirits of premodern Biology.
 
In the latter case there are three examples from the history of science where the simpler of two competing theories each of which explains all the observed phenomena has been chosen over its ontologically bloated competitor: the Coperican heliocentric model of celestial mechanics over the Ptolemaic geocentric model, the mechanical theory of heat over the Caloric theory, and the Einsteinian theory of electromagnetism over the Luminiferous aether theory. In the first example, The Copernican model is said to have been chosen over the Ptolemaic due to its greater simplicity. The Ptolemaic model in order to explain the apparent retrograde motion of Mercury relative to Venus posited the existence of epicycles within the orbit of Mercury. The Copernican model was able to account for this retrograde by displacing the Earth from the center of the solar system and replacing it with the sun as the orbital loci of the planets while simultaneously replacing the circular orbits of the Ptolemaic model with elliptical ones. In addition The Copernican model excluded any mention of the crystaline spheres that the planets were thought to be imbedded in according the the Ptolemaic model. In a single stroke the Copernican model reduced by a factor of two the ontology of Astronomy. According to the Caloric theory of heat, heat is a weightless substance that can travel from one object to another. This theory arose from the study of canon boaring and the invention of the steam engine. It was while studying canon boaring that Count Rutherford made observations that conflicted with the Caloric theory and he formulated his mechanical theory to replace it. The Mechanical theory eliminated the Caloric and was thus ontologically simpler than its predacessor. During the 19th cenrtury Physicists believed that light required a medium of transmission much as sound waves do. It was hypothesized that a universal aether was such a medium and much effort was expended to detect it. In one of the most famous negative experiments in the history of science, the Michelson-Morley experiment failed to find any evidence of its existence. Einstein capitalized on this finding and constructed his theory with out any reference to the Aether thus providing another example of a theory chosen in part for its greater ontological simplicity.
 
The discovery of the neutrino and the atomic and molecular theory of matter are examples from the history of science that are supportive of the second proposition of Occam's Sword.
 
== Medicine/Philosophy of Medicine and Occam's Razor ==
 
When discussing Occam's Razor in contemporary Medicine, doctors and Philosophers of medicine speak of diagnostic parsimony. Diagnostic parsimony advocates that when diagnosing a given injury, ailment, illness, or disease a doctor should strive to look for the fewest possible causes that will account for all the symptoms.
 
== Astronomy/Philosophy of Astronomy and Occam's Razor ==
 
How is Occam's Razor used in contemporary Astronomy/Cosmology?
 
== Biology/Philosophy of Biology and Occam's Razor ==
 
Biologists or Philosophers of Biology use Occam's Razor in either of two contexts both in evolutionary Biology: the units of selection controversy and Systematics. George C. Williams in his book Adaptation and Natural Selection (1966) argues that the best way to explain altruism among animals is based on low level, i.e. individual, selection as opposed to high level group selection. Altruism is defined as behavior that is beneficial to the group but not to the individual and group selection is thought by some to be the evolutionary mechanism that selects for altruistic traits. Others posit Individual selection as the mechanism which explains altruism solely in terms of the behaviors of individual organisms acting in their own self interest without regard to the group. The basis for Williams contension is that of the two, individual selection is the more parsimonious theory. In doing so he is invoking a variant of Occam's Razor known as Lloyd Morgan's Cannon.
 
Williams provides an example from zoology. Musk oxen when threatened by wolves will form a circle with the males on the outside and the females and young on the inside. Biologists often cite this as an example of alturistic behavior by the males that is disadvantageous to them individually but beneficial to the group as a whole and thus supportive of the group selection theory. Williams, however, offers an alternative interpretation based on individual selection. When treatened by a larger or more dangerous animal, an individual Musk oxen will either fight of flee. The males being larger than the females and young perceive wolves as less dangerous and are willing to fight while the females and young flee to the interior of the circle. From this perspective there is no need for group selection. each individual is acting in it's own self interest.
 
Systematics is the branch of Biology that attempts to establish genealogical relationships among organisms. It is also concerned with their classification. There are three primary camps in systematics; cladists, pheneticists, and evolutionary taxonomists. The cladists hold that genealogy alone should determine classification and pheneticists contend that similarity over propinquity of descent is the determining criteria while evolutionary taxonomists claim that both genealogy and similarity count in classification.
 
It is among the cladists that Occam's razor is to be found. Although their term for it is cladistic parsimony. Cladistic parsimony is a method of phylogenetic inference in the construction of cladograms. Cladograms are branching tree like structures used to represent lines of descent based on one or more evolutionary change(s). Cladistic parsimony is used to support the hypothesis(es) that require the fewest evolutionary changes. For a full treatment of cladistic parsimony see Elliott Sober's Reconstructing the Past: Parsimony, Evolution, and Inference (1988). For a discussion of both uses of Occam's Razor in Biology see Elliott Sober's article Let's Razor Occam's Razor(1990).
 
== Computer Science and Occam's Razor ==
 
== Chemistry/Philosophy of Chemistry and Occam's Razor ==
 
For contemporary uses of Occam's razor in Chemistry see Ockham's Razor and Chemistry by Roald Hoffmann, Vladimir I. Minkin, and Barry K. Carpenter at: http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/3/hoffman.htm
 
== Economics and Occam's Razor ==
 
Supply is not to be multiplied beyond demand.
 
== History/Philosophy of History and Occam's Razor ==
 
When reconstructing the past we are to admit no more causes of an event or events than are necessary or supported by the evidence.
 
== Linguistics and Occam's Razor ==
 
== Physics/Philosophy of Physics and Occam's Razor ==
 
What examples are there from contemporary Physics of the use of Occam's Razor?
 
Can space/time be eliminated from the ontology of Physics or is it part of the metalanguage of Physics and thus impervious to elimination?
 
The discovery of the Neutrino is an example of the application of the second proposition of Occam's Sword. Within this context it is interesting to note the role the conservation of matter and energy played in that discovery. See Nolan (1997).
 
== Psychology/Philosophy of Psychology and Occam's Razor ==
See Morgan's Canon and references
 
== Statistics and Occam's Razor ==
 
There are various papers in scholarly journals deriving versions of Occam's Razor from [[probability theory]] and applying it in [[statistical inference]], and also of various criteria for penalizing complexity in statistical inference. Recent papers have suggested a connection between Occam's Razor and [[Kolmogorov complexity]].
 
One of the problems with the original formulation of the principle is that it only applies to models with the same explanatory power (i.e. prefer the simplest of equally good models). A more general form of Occam's Razor can be derived from [[Bayesian inference]] and [[Bayesian model comparison]], which can be used to compare models that don't fit the data equally well (see e.g. Jaynes, 1994; Duda, Hart & Stork, 2000; MacKay, 2003). These methods can sometimes optimally balance the complexity and power of a model.
 
== Religion/Philosophy of Religion and Occam's Razor ==
 
In the [[philosophy of religion]] Occam's Razor is sometimes used to challenge [[arguments for the existence of God]]. None of these applications has been considered definitive because the competing assumptions are not (and perhaps cannot be) precisely defined. Also, it should be added that the principle is only a guide to the best theory based on current knowledge, not the "truth."
 
William may have been inspired by earlier thinkers. For example, Book V of [[Aristotle]]'s ''Physics'' has the statement "Nature operates in the shortest way possible."
 
[[Galileo Galilei]] lampooned the misuse of Occam's Razor in his ''Dialogue''. The principle is represented in the dialogue by ''Simplicio''.
 
The telling point that Galileo presented ironically was that if you ''really'' wanted to start from a small number of entities, you could always consider the letters of the alphabet as the fundamental entities, since you could certainly construct the whole of human knowledge out of them. (A view that [[Abraham Abulafia]] held much more expansively.)
 
Adding another layer of irony, many modern scientists and mathematicians seriously propose that the basic "entities" of reality may be "bits of information", i.e. the digits of binary code, in which case the entities of William of Occam might be seen as foreshadowing the logic of [[George Boole]] and modern computing.
 
Perhaps due to the abstruse nature of medieval logic and the obscure goals of William of Occam as a theologian and logician, discussion and application of Ockham's Razor is frequently full of ironies.
 
It is argued that Ockham was an intellectual forefather of the Scientific Method because he argued for a degree of intellectual freedom in a time of dogmatic belief. He can also, however, be seen as an apologist for Divine Omnipotence, since he was concerned to demonstrate that creation was contingent and the Creator free to change the rules at will. Thus, if [[God]] is free to make an infinity of worlds with completely different rules from those which prevail in our world, then we are free to imagine such worlds and their logical and practical consequences (within the bounds set by the Church's infallible Dogma).
 
Perhaps the best formulation of Occam's Razor is the one which states that, of equally good explanations for a phenomenon, the best one is the simplest explanation which accounts for '''all''' the facts.
 
Occam's Razor could also be said to apply to the elimination of the soul as a superfluous entity.
 
Creationist sometimes employ Occam's razor in defense of their theory of Cosmogenesis and Geogenesis claiming that theirs is the simpler theory as compared with the scientific account. Unfortunately for creationists their theory does not adequately explain all the observed phenomena.
 
 
== Philosophy of Mind and Occam's Razor ==
 
Perhaps the earliest application of Occam's Razor in the Philosophy of Mind is to be found in the work of George Berkeley(1685-1753). Berkeley was an Idealist believing that all of reality could be explained in terms of the mind alone. He famously of infamously depending on your point of view invoked Occam's Razor against Idealism's metaphysical competitor materialism claiming that matter was not required by his metaphysic and was thus eliminable. Idealism has few adherents today and Berkeley's arguments find few sympathetic ears. In light of Occam's Sword this is perhaps the most ironic application of Occam's Razor in its entire history.
 
In the 20th century Philosophy of Mind, Occam's Razor found a champion in J.J.C. Smart who in his article "Sensations and Brain Processes"(1959) claimed Occam's Razor as the basis for his preference of the mind-brain identity theory over mind body dualism. Dualists claim that there are two kinds of substances in the universe physical (including the body) and the mental which is nonphysical.In contrast identity theorist claim that everything is physical including consciousness and that there is nothing nonphysical. The basis for the materialist claim is that of the two competing theories, dualism and mind-brain identity, the identity theory is the simpler since it commits to fewer entities. Smart was criticized for his use of the razor and ultimately retracted his advocacy of it in this context.
 
Paul Churcland in Matter and Consciousness(1984) cites Occam's Razor as the first line of attack against dualism but that by itself it is inconclusive. The deciding factor for Churchland is the greater explanatory prowess of a materialist position in the Philosophy of Mind as informed by findings in Neurobiology.
 
Dale Jacquette in his Philosophy of Mind(1994) claims that Occam's Razor is the rational behind eliminativism and reductionism in the Philosophy of Mind. Eliminativism is the thesis that the ontology of folk Psychology including such entities as "pain", "joy", "desire", "fear" etc. are eliminable in favor of an ontology of a completed neuroscience.
 
Occam's Sword purports to intertheoretically subsume eliminative materialism as espouced by Paul and Patricia Churchland.
 
== Justifications for Occam's Razor ==
 
Occam's Razor is known by several different names including the Principle of Parsimony, The Principle of Simplicity, and The Principle of Economy. The reason for these alternate names can be explained by the association of simplicity and parsimony with Occam's Razor. Prior to the 20th century it was believed that the metaphysical justification for Occam's Razor was simplicity. It was thought that nature was in some sense simple. From the beginning of the 20th century on this view fell out of favor as scientist presented an ever increasingly complex world view. In responce, philosophers turned away from metaphysical justifications for Occam's Razor to epistemological ones including inductive, pragmatic, likelihood and probabilistic justifications which is where things stand today. Occam's Sword purports to restore "the lapsed ontological tradition" to borrow a phrase from Elliott Sober. The metaphysical explanation for Occam's Sword is the conservation of matter and energy. The shift is not only from epistemological justifications to a metaphysical one. It also entails shifting from justifications to explanations which is a shift from philosophy to science. For those interested in a summary of epistemological justifications for Occam's Razor see Roger Ariew's dissertation of 1976 "Ockham's Razor: A Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Ockham's Principle of Parsimony.
 
== Chatton's Anti-razor and Occam's Razor ==
 
Walter of Chatton was a contemporary of William of Ockham (1287-1347) who took exception to Ockham's razor and Ockham's use of it. So in response he devised his own anti-razor:'if three things are not enough to verify an affirmative proposition about things, a forth must be added, and so on'. Although there have been a number of philosophers who have formulated similar anti-razors since Chatton's time, Chatton's anti-razor has not known anything like the success of Occam's razor. Among those who have coined their own anti-razors are Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz(1646-1716), Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), and Karl Menger(20th century). Leibniz's version took the form of a principle of plentitude as Arthur Lovejoy has called it. The idea behind the principle was that God created the world with the most possible creatures. Kant felt a need to moderate the effects of Ockham's razor and thus created his own counter razor;'the variety of beings should not rashly be deminished'. Karl Menger found mathematicians to be too parsimonious with regard to variables so he formulated his Law Against Miserliness which took either of two forms:'entities must not be reduced to the point of inadequacy' and 'it is vain to do with fewer what requires more'. Chatton's anti-razor and its descendants become of contemporary significance when seen in light of the 2nd and 4th propositions of Occam's Sword. See Ockham's Razor and Chatton's Anti-Razor(1984) by Armand Maurer.
 
== Occam's Sword ==
 
Occam's Sword subsumes Occam's Razor and is comprised of four propositions as follows:
 
1) Entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity.
2) Entities are not to be reduced or eliminated beyond necessity.
3) Properties of entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity.
4) Properties of entities are not to be reduced or eliminated beyond necessity.
 
The metaphysical explanation for Occam's Sword is the conservation of matter and energy that is why in an ontological sense entities and properties of entities can not be multiplied, reduced or eliminated because matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. In subsuming Occam's Razor all evidence in support of Occam's Razor drawn from the history of science accrues to Occam's Sword.
 
For additional information see external links: occamssword.com Includes extensive bibliography related to Occam's Razor, simplicity in the Philosophy of Science, and parsimony in Biology and the Philosophy of Biology. For bibliographies related to the topics above see the Subject Guide for Occam's razor.
 
== See also ==
 
*[[Falsifiability]]
*[[philosophy of science]]
*[[Hanlon's razor]]
*[[Rationalism]]
*[[Bayesian inference]]
*[[Bayesian model comparison]]
*[[Kolmogorov complexity]]
*[[scientific reductionism]]
*[[Morgan's Canon]]
*[[simplicity]]
*[[cladistics]]
*[[curve fitting problem]]
 
== References ==
*Ariew, R.(1976) Ockham's Razor: A Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Ockham's Principle of Parsimony. Philosophy. Champane-Urbana, University of Illinois.
*Churchland, P. (1984) Matter and Consciousness. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press.
*Epstein, R. (1984). The Principle of Parsimony and Some Applications in Psychology. Journal of Mind Behavior 5:119-130
*Jacquette, D. (1994). Ockham's Razor. Philosophy of Mind. Engleswoods Cliffs, N.J., Prentice Hall:34-36.
*Maurer, A. (1984). Ockham's Razor and Chatton's Anti-Razor. Medieval Studies 46:463-475.
*Morgan, L. C. (1898). An Introduction to Comparative Psychology. London, W. Scott.
*Nolan, D. (1997). Quantitative Parsimony. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 48(3):329-343.
*Smart, J. J. C. (1959). Sensations and Brain Processes. Philosophical Review68:141-156.
*Sober, E. (1981). The Principle of Parsimony. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 32:145-156.
*Sober, E. (1990). Let's Razor Ockham's Razor. Philosophy supp:73-93.
*Williams, G. C. (1966). Adaptation and Natural Selection, Princeton University Press.
* Richard O. Duda, Peter E. Hart, David G. Stork (2000) ''Pattern classification'' (2nd edition), Section 9.6.5, p. 487-489, Wiley, ISBN 0471056693
* Chapter 24 in [http://omega.math.albany.edu:8008/JaynesBook.html Probability Theory - The logic of science] by [[Edwin_Thompson_Jaynes|E. T. Jaynes]], 1994.
* [[David J.C. MacKay]] (2003) Information theory, inference and learning algorithms, CUP, ISBN 0521642981, (also [http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/mackay/itila/book.html available online])
 
== External links ==
 
*[http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/~dkoks/Faq/General/occam.html What is Occam's Razor?]
* [[Skeptic's Dictionary]]: [http://skepdic.com/occam.html ''Occam's Razor'']
*[http://rii.ricoh.com/~stork/OccamWorkshop.html NIPS 2001 Workshop "Foundations of Occam's Razor and parsimony in learning"]
* [http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/fox98we.html We Must Choose The Simplest Physical Theory: Levin-Li-Vitányi Theorem And Its Potential Physical Applications]
* [http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/mackay/itila/book.html Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms], by [[David J.C. MacKay]], includes an introductory chapter on the automatic Occam's razor that is embodied by [[Bayesian model comparison]].
* [http://www.ai.mit.edu/conferences/aistats2001/files/needham122.ps Message Length as an Effective Ockham's Razor in Decision Tree Induction], by S. Needham and [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~dld D. Dowe], Proc. [http://www.ai.mit.edu/conferences/aistats2001 8th International Workshop on AI and Statistics] (2001), [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~dld/Publications/2001/Needham+Dowe2001.ref pp253-260]. (Shows how [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~dld/Ockham.html Ockham's razor] works fine when interpreted as MML.)
* [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~lloyd/tildeMML/ Lloyd's MML pages] describe how [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_Message_Length Minimum Message Length induction] extends [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~dld/Occam.html Ockham's razor] for differing hypotheses. ([http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~dld/MML.html MML] is a scale-invariant Bayesian model selection method.)
* [http://occamssword.com occamssword.com]
 
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