Occam's Razor

Occam’s Razor

On page 90 of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Occam’s law is not only mentioned, but described. This is what is says:

: (1) “And it shows that something called Occam’s razor is true. And Occam’s razor is not a razor that men shave with but a Law, and it says
L Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
Which is Latin and it means:
p No more things should be presumed t exit than are absolutely necessary.
( (2) Which means that a murder victim is usually killed by someone known to them and fairies are made out of paper and you cant talk to someone who is dead.”

First of all, Occam’s razor was invented by an English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham, in the 14th century. Paraphrased, this theory means "All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one," or even simpler said, “The simplest answer is usually the correct answer.”

This is the logic used by Chris in the second part of the quote. A person who is connected to another will know that persons flaws, therefore can want to commit murder. On the other hand, a stranger would not want to kill someone they don’t know; there is less of a motive. The ‘easiest’ solution is that an associated person would kill Wellington, not a mere stranger.

Also, Chris is saying that the Cottingly Fairies, referenced on page 88, are in fact non existent, and that the people that claim to have seen them are those who made them out of paper.

And lastly, he uses this complex theory to suggest that his mother is in fact dead, because according to the theory, the easiest possibility is right, which is that his mother is dead. This is all that Chris knows. He is unable to lie, therefore he is unable to decipher when he is being lied to.