Life Is Simple How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe, reviewed

We look at this recent release which considers the life of William of Occam by scientist Johnjoe McFadden, and how his principle of looking for the simplest solution has affected so many areas of our lives. You can see more about the book Life Is Simple, How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free here.

Life Is Simple How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe, reviewed

Occam’s razor has entered our language as a vital, useful and smart way of looking at things. Firstly the author takes us on a tour of who William of Occam actually was, and how his world view came to evolve. The implications were revolutionary, and 14th century Occam was possibly lucky to even remain alive consider the world that he lived in. A number of the early chapters consider his life, times, and the impact even while he was alive.

At this point you could apply his own razor sharp criteria to the rest of the chapters and ask if the further elaboration was needed. However we are richer for McFadden taking us on a wider contextual tour of the impact of Occam’s razor on science and critical thinking across many fields.  In particular we enjoyed the chapter on Einstein, who exemplified when following this critical approach benefited him, and also arguably where he went down some rabbit holes when he failed to apply this approach.

We enjoyed the book, and it does deliver a cohesive perspective across numerous centuries and also widely disparate disciplines too – not an easy thing to do at all. This book definitely works as a popular science book for the general reader, and we felt the latter chapters, assessing Occam’s impact across a wide range of sectors and thought leaders probably worked most effectively.

More about the book

A biologist argues that simplicity is the guiding principle of the universe

Centuries ago, the principle of Ockham’s razor changed our world by showing simpler answers to be preferable and more often true. In Life Is Simple, scientist Johnjoe McFadden traces centuries of discoveries, taking us from a geocentric cosmos to quantum mechanics and DNA, arguing that simplicity has revealed profound answers to the greatest mysteries. This is no coincidence.

From the laws that keep a ball in motion to those that govern evolution, simplicity, he claims, has shaped the universe itself. And in McFadden’s view, life could only have emerged by embracing maximal simplicity, making the fundamental law of the universe a cosmic form of natural selection that favors survival of the simplest. Recasting both the history of science and our universe’s origins, McFadden transforms our understanding of ourselves and our world.

More about the author here

Johnjoe McFadden is Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey, where he studies the genetics of microbes that cause infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis. The author of Quantum Evolution and the co-author ofLife on the Edge, he lives in London with his wife and son.

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