Hanlon's razor
Encyclopedia
Hanlon's Razor
is an eponymous adage that reads:
This particular form is attributed to a Robert J. Hanlon. However, earlier utterances that convey basically the same idea are known.
, according to his friend Joseph Bigler, as a submission for a book compilation of various jokes related to Murphy's law
published in 1980 entitled Murphy's Law Book Two, More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong. The name was inspired by Occam's razor
.
A similar quotation appears in Robert A. Heinlein
's 1941 short story "Logic of Empire
" ("You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity"); this was noticed in 1996 (five years before Bigler identified the Robert J. Hanlon citation) and first referenced in version 4.0.0 of the Jargon File
, with speculation that Hanlon's Razor might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor". "Heinlein's Razor" has since been defined as variations on Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don't rule out malice. Yet another similar epigram
("Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence") has been widely attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. Another similar quote appears in Goethe
's The Sorrows of Young Werther
(1774): "...misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent."
A common (and more laconic) British English
variation, coined by Sir Bernard Ingham
, is the saying "cock-up before conspiracy", deriving from this quotation:
Razor (philosophy)
In philosophy, a razor is a device which allows one to shave away unlikely explanations for a phenomenon.Famous razors include:*Aristotle's razor *Occam's razor - when faced with competing hypothesis select the one that makes the fewest assumptions...
is an eponymous adage that reads:
This particular form is attributed to a Robert J. Hanlon. However, earlier utterances that convey basically the same idea are known.
Origins and similar quotations
The quotation first came from Robert J. Hanlon of Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, according to his friend Joseph Bigler, as a submission for a book compilation of various jokes related to Murphy's law
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
published in 1980 entitled Murphy's Law Book Two, More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong. The name was inspired by Occam's razor
Occam's razor
Occam's razor, also known as Ockham's razor, and sometimes expressed in Latin as lex parsimoniae , is a principle that generally recommends from among competing hypotheses selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions.-Overview:The principle is often summarized as "simpler explanations...
.
A similar quotation appears in Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's 1941 short story "Logic of Empire
Logic of Empire
"Logic of Empire" is a science fiction novella by Robert A. Heinlein. Part of his Future History series, it originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction , and was collected in The Green Hills of Earth .Two well-off Earth men are arguing about whether there is slavery on Venus, and one of them...
" ("You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity"); this was noticed in 1996 (five years before Bigler identified the Robert J. Hanlon citation) and first referenced in version 4.0.0 of the Jargon File
Jargon File
The Jargon File is a glossary of computer programmer slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Carnegie Mellon...
, with speculation that Hanlon's Razor might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor". "Heinlein's Razor" has since been defined as variations on Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don't rule out malice. Yet another similar epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
("Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence") has been widely attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. Another similar quote appears in Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
's The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther is an epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774; a revised edition of the novel was published in 1787...
(1774): "...misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent."
A common (and more laconic) British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
variation, coined by Sir Bernard Ingham
Bernard Ingham
Sir Bernard Ingham is a journalist and former civil servant who is best known as Margaret Thatcher's Chief Press Secretary while she was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Today Ingham lectures in Public Relations at Middlesex University in London...
, is the saying "cock-up before conspiracy", deriving from this quotation:
See also
- Clarke's three lawsClarke's three lawsClarke's Three Laws are three "laws" of prediction formulated by the British writer and scientist Arthur C. Clarke. They are:# When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right...
- Finagle's lawFinagle's lawFinagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives is usually rendered:One variant favored among hackers is a takeoff on the second law of thermodynamics :The term "Finagle's Law" was first used by John W...
- Occam's razorOccam's razorOccam's razor, also known as Ockham's razor, and sometimes expressed in Latin as lex parsimoniae , is a principle that generally recommends from among competing hypotheses selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions.-Overview:The principle is often summarized as "simpler explanations...
- Sturgeon's LawSturgeon's LawSturgeon's revelation, commonly referred to as Sturgeon's law, is an adage derived from quotations by Theodore Sturgeon, an American science fiction author. While Sturgeon coined another adage that he termed "Sturgeon's law", it is his "revelation" that is usually referred to by that term...
- List of eponymous laws
- Razor (philosophy)Razor (philosophy)In philosophy, a razor is a device which allows one to shave away unlikely explanations for a phenomenon.Famous razors include:*Aristotle's razor *Occam's razor - when faced with competing hypothesis select the one that makes the fewest assumptions...