Occam's Razor

Occam on a Wigu t-shirt

So this guy, Ockham, never actually said, "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one." That is kind of what he was implying though. What Father William de Ockham actually said was "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity." In other words, do not add what is not needed.  He also said "Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora [It is futile to do with more things that which can be done with fewer]."

As for the razor? It's what you use to cut down to the essential idea, "shaving away unnecessary assumptions."

My favorite part of the Occam's Razor wikipedia page was the "See Also" section.

 Don't mind if I do...

Time and Peanut Butter

Turns out that a "jiffy" is an actual unit of time, though it has a different definitions depending on context, but it's usually the time it takes light (or energy) to travel a short distance.  It might have originated as the length of time it takes for light to travel one centimeter (which is measured in picoseconds). Now physics sometimes defines it as the time it takes light to travel the smallest imaginable space.

When I hear "jiffy" I now think of it as the time it takes for the smell of peanut butter produced at the local Jif plant to reach my nose.  Jif is a brand of peanut butter owned by Smuckers and their factory in Lexington, KY is the largest producer of peanut butter in the world. I am lucky enough to live roughly 500 meters from the plant, which makes smells that vary from burnt popcorn to a mild nutty scent.

GDP by State!

GraphJam is an amusing site over at Cheez Burger (aka lolcats). While usually breaking down things like How Lady Gaga likes her steaks, every now and then there is an economic gem such as if the states were renamed by GDP:

Click to zoom

Source

Horse Capital of the World

There are five horse capitals of the world. Four of them are in the United States (the other is in France, go figure). I'm pretty happy to live in one of them, especially as the World Equestrian Games approach.

Source: wikipedia

Love: the Verb. as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary

verbatim (not including phrases or usage, though that is arguably the best part):

love, v.1 DRAFT REVISION June 2010

Etm. /lv/, U.S. /lv/  Forms: . OE hlufian (rare), OE lufian, OE luuian (rare), lOE lofodest (2nd singular past indicative, perh. transmission error), lOE louian, eME louie, eME lufie, eME luuige, eME luuie, ME lofuie, ME loueie, ME louie, ME louy, ME louye, ME lovy, ME lovye, ME lowie, ME lufie, ME luuie, ME luuye.. ME lof, ME lofe, ME loffe, ME lofue, ME looue, ME louf, ME lovue, ME low, ME lowe, ME lowfe, ME luf, ME lufe, ME luff, ME luffe, ME luud (past tense), ME luue, ME-16 loue, ME- love, 15 lub, 15 lubbe, 15 luve, 15-16 loove, 18- luv

Definitions after the jump

Surgery is less scary...

...now that I know that it is standard procedure to count the cotton balls before and after. Television shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy and the comic strip The Far Side always have mishaps of various items being left inside the patient after they are sewn up, but there is a checklist for such things, even as small as cotton.

Count 'em up!

Coconut Water

It's the best cure. Always will be, always has been.

Nature's Gatorade, used by soldiers in the South Pacific when they ran out of sterile saline, this stuff is made to go in your body. It is full of electrolytes and liquid, with none of the sugar (or worse, fake sugar) that plagues modern sports drinks. Plus, thanks to the Tetra Pak, coconut water is not easily found in grocery stores from Brazil to Alaska.

Drink it, Love it.


You'll notice I saved this post for my birthday. Some secrets are worth sharing on special days.