Hanlon’s razor

Hanlon’s razor is a precautionary little principle. It’s useful in keeping discussions productive, in fending off paranoia and in reminding us not to assume too much about another person’s motives.

Hanlon’s razor is a precautionary little principle. It’s useful in keeping discussions productive, in fending off paranoia and in reminding us not to assume too much about another person’s motives. It’s often impossible for us really to know.

Hitchens’ razor

Hitchens’ razor encapsulates that incisive, no-nonsense, almost scholastic dialectic

Christopher Hitchens had an incisive mind and a reputation for the unceremonial dismissal of foolish opponents. If you were planning to take on Hitch you definitely would have needed to bring your best arguments. Hitchens’ razor encapsulates that incisive, no-nonsense, almost scholastic dialectic in a critical thinking principle that could hardly have been named after anyone else.

Carl Sagan’s razor

Carl Sagan, astronomer and science populiser was no fool. He was the one behind the incredibly successful history of science series, Cosmos. Not only was it a hit in the 1970s when Sagan presented it himself but it was equally popular when Neil de Grasse-Tyson remade it decades later. Such was the ability of Sagan. His razor is as straightforward as it is important. Find out more in under four minutes by clicking the video below.