Hanlon's Razor

Most of us know about Occam's Razor, the problem-solving adage that recommends searching for explanations that are constructed with the smallest possible set of elements.

Attributed to the 14th-century English philosopher, theologian, and writer William of Ockham, it is frequently cited as Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, which translates as "Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity", although Occam never used these exact words in his writings. Popularly, the principle is sometimes paraphrased as "of two competing theories, the simplest explanation of an entity is to be preferred."

But there's also a competing adage that suggests we should "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." In essence, it's a reminder to consider incompetence or oversight as a more likely explanation for negative actions or outcomes than deliberate ill intent.

While Occam's Razor and Hanlon's Razor are both simplifying principles, Occam's Razor focuses on the simplest explanation possible, while Hanlon's Razor specifically focuses on the absence of malice as the simpler explanation.

Hanlon's Razor was a submission credited in print to Robert J. Hanlon in a compilation of various jokes related to Murphy's law in 'Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong!' (1980).

Much earlier, a similar quotation appeared in Robert A. Heinlein's novella 'Logic of Empire' (1941). The character Doc in the story describes the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."

Writer Terry Pratchett also seems to have grasped to difference between stupidity and intelligence when he remarks on page 215 of 'Hogfather': 'Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.”