Hanlon's razor

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Hanlon's razor is an adage or rule of thumb that states: [1]

Contents

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

It is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior. It is probably named after a Ronald M. Hanlon, who submitted the statement to Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! (1980). Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century.

Origin

The adage was a submission credited in print to Ronald M. Hanlon of Bronx, New York , 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). [1]

A similar quotation appears in Robert A. Heinlein's novella Logic of Empire (1941). [2] The character Doc in the story describes the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity." [3]

Hanlon's razor became well known after its inclusion in the Jargon File , a glossary of computer programmer slang, in 1990. [4] Later that year, the Jargon File editors noted lack of knowledge of the term's derivation and the existence of a similar epigram by William James, although this was possibly intended as a reference to William James Laidlay. [5] [6] In 1996, the Jargon File entry on Hanlon's Razor noted the existence of the phrase in Heinlein's novella, with speculation that Hanlon's Razor might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor". [2] 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. [7] [8] In 2002, the Jargon File entry noted the same. [9] The Jargon File now calls it a "Murphyism". [10]

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

Exceptions

Grey's law (a humorous variant of Arthur C. Clarke's 3rd law):

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

Douglas W. Hubbard quoted Hanlon's razor and added "a clumsier but more accurate corollary":

Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system. [13]

Other variations of the idea

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. [14]

A similar quote is also misattributed to Napoleon. [15] 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.'" [16] : 771 

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 Eric S. Raymond, ed. (24 July 1996). "The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Robert Heinlein (1 March 1941). "Logic of Empire". Astounding Science-Fiction. Vol. 27, no. 1. p. 39. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Quote Investigator (30 December 2016). "Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity". quoteinvestigator.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  6. ↑ Eric S. Raymond; Guy L. Steele, eds. (15 December 1990). "The Jargon File, Version 2.2.1". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (26 November 2001). "[untitled]" . Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (4 December 2001). "The origins of Hanlon's Razor" . Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Eric S. Raymond, ed. (3 March 2002). "The Jargon File, Version 4.3.2". jargon-file.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "Hanlon's Razor". Jargon File . Eric S. Raymond. 3 March 2002. 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. ↑ Hubbard 2020, pp. 81–82.
  14. ↑ Wells, H.G. (1896). The Wheels of Chance.
  15. ↑ Selin, Shannon (14 July 2014). "Napoleon Misquoted - Ten Famous Things Bonaparte Never Actually Said". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  16. ↑ Roberts, Andrew (2019). Churchill: Walking with Destiny . New York: Penguin Books. ISBN   9781101981009.

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