Hanlon's razor

Hanlon's razor is an adage, or rule of thumb, that states: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." ^[1] It is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior. It is purportedly named after one Robert J. Hanlon, ^[2] who submitted the statement to Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! (1980). ^[1] Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century.

Origin

In a compilation of various jokes related to Murphy's law published in Arthur Bloch's Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! (1980), the adage was titled "Hanlon's razor", without any indication of who "Hanlon" might be. ^[1]

A statement similar to Hanlon's razor appears in Robert A. Heinlein's 1941 novella "Logic of Empire". ^[3] The character Doc in the story describes the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity." ^[4]

Hanlon's razor became well known after its inclusion in the Jargon File , a glossary of computer programmer slang, in 1990. ^[5] Later that year, the Jargon File editors declared its origin unknown, and wrote that there was a similar epigram by William James; this was possibly intended as a reference to William James Laidlay. ^{[6] [7]} In 1996, the Jargon File entry on Hanlon's Razor noted the existence of a similar statement in Heinlein's novella, with speculation that "Hanlon's razor" might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor". ^[3] The link to Murphy's law was described in a pair of 2001 blog entries by Quentin Stafford-Fraser, citing emails from Joseph E. Bigler. ^{[8] [9]} In 2002, the Jargon File entry noted the same. ^[10] The Jargon File now calls it a "Murphyism". ^[2]

The name was inspired by Occam's razor. ^[11]

Variations

Grey's law (a humorous parallel to Arthur C. Clarke's 3rd law):

Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice. ^[12]

A variation appears in The Wheels of Chance (1896) by H. G. Wells:

There is very little deliberate wickedness in the world. The stupidity of our selfishness gives much the same results indeed, but in the ethical laboratory it shows a different nature. ^[13]

A similar quote is also misattributed to Napoleon. ^[14] Andrew Roberts, in his biography of Winston Churchill, quotes from Churchill's correspondence with King George VI in February 1943 regarding disagreements with Charles de Gaulle: "His insolence ... may be founded on stupidity rather than malice." ^{[15] : 771}

See also

• Occam's razor, the simplest explanation is often the correct one
• Hitchens's razor, assertions made without evidence may be dismissed without evidence
• Mike Alder § Newton's flaming laser sword, do not dispute propositions unless they can be shown to have observable consequences
• Finagle's law, anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment
• Principle of charity, interpret a speaker's statements in the most rational way possible
• Sturgeon's law, "ninety percent of everything is crap"
• List of eponymous laws

References

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1. Arthur Bloch (1980). Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! . Price Stern Sloan. p.  52. ISBN   9780417064505. (search result in archive.org)
2. "Hanlon's Razor". Jargon File . Eric S. Raymond. 3 March 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
3. Eric S. Raymond, ed. (24 July 1996). "The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
4. Robert Heinlein (1 March 1941). "Logic of Empire". Astounding Science-Fiction. Vol. 27, no. 1. p. 39. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
5. Guy L. Steele; Eric S. Raymond, eds. (12 June 1990). "The Jargon File, Version 2.1.1 (Draft)". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
6. Quote Investigator (30 December 2016). "Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity". quoteinvestigator.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
7. Eric S. Raymond; Guy L. Steele, eds. (15 December 1990). "The Jargon File, Version 2.2.1". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
8. Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (26 November 2001). "[untitled]" . Retrieved 19 July 2017.
9. Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (4 December 2001). "The origins of Hanlon's Razor" . Retrieved 19 July 2017.
10. Eric S. Raymond, ed. (3 March 2002). "The Jargon File, Version 4.3.2". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
11. Livraghi, Giancarlo (2004). Il potere della stupidità. Pescara, Italy: Monti & Ambrosini SRL. p. 1. ISBN   9788889479131.
12. Razzetti, Gustavo (8 July 2019). "The world is not out to get you". medium.com. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
13. Wells, H. G. (1896). The Wheels of Chance.
14. Selin, Shannon (14 July 2014). "Napoleon Misquoted - Ten Famous Things Bonaparte Never Actually Said". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
15. Roberts, Andrew (2019). Churchill: Walking with Destiny . New York: Penguin Books. ISBN   9781101981009.

Literature

• Hubbard, Douglas W. (2020). The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It (Second ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781119521914. ISBN   9781119522034.