--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never increase, beyond what is necessary…" description: "\"Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.\" — William of Ockham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg" --- # Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of… ![“Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.” quote by William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg) > “Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.” [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explain phenomena with the fewest necessary entities, avoiding unnecessary complexity. **In simple terms:** Use the simplest explanation that works. Key Takeaway Apply Occam’s razor to problem solving. Themes philosophy logic parsimony Mood analytical educational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - engineering - policy making - software development Key Concepts theory building scientific method design thinking Questions to Reflect On - When is a complex model justified? - How do you test if a simple model suffices? A Different Perspective Simplicity may overlook hidden variables. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Entities Required](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entities-required-5101070/) [Entity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entity/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Increase Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase-necessary-5101071/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Necessary Number](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-number-5101073/) [Number Entities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number-entities-5101072/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Required Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/required-explain-5101074/) ## Related quotes > [Entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-are-not-to-be-multiplied-beyond-necessity/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Entities should not be posited unnecessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-should-not-be-posited-unnecessarily/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [The Oslo Accords in 1993 determined that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are a single territorial entity which cannot be divided. Immediately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-oslo-accords-in-1993-determined-that-the-gaza-strip-and-the-west/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-state-is-the-great-fictitious-entity-by-which-everyone-seeks-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [The earth itself assures us it is a living entity. Deep below surface one can hear its slow pulse, feel its vibrant rhythm. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/the-earth-itself-assures-us-it-is-a-living-entity-deep-below-surface/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) > [Fasting is not bodily hunger but bodily elevation and purity. It is not a body that hungers and longs for food, but a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/fasting-is-not-bodily-hunger-but-bodily-elevation-and-purity-it-is/) [Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/) > [We've established the most enormous medical entity ever conceived... and people are sicker than ever. We cure nothing! We heal nothing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/we-ve-established-the-most-enormous-medical-entity-ever-conceived-and/) [Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/) > [The body is thus not simply an 'entity', but is experienced as a practical mode of coping with external situations and events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-body-is-thus-not-simply-an-entity-but-is-experienced-as-a/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) ## More by William of Ockham > [Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate. A plurality (of reasons) should not be posited without necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/pluralitas-non-est-ponenda-sine-necessitate-a-plurality-of-reasons/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Entities should not be posited unnecessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-should-not-be-posited-unnecessarily/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [God's existence cannot be deduced by reason alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/god-s-existence-cannot-be-deduced-by-reason-alone/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Whenever two hypotheses cover the facts, use the simpler of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/whenever-two-hypotheses-cover-the-facts-use-the-simpler-of-the-two/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [“Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate. (Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/pluralitas-non-est-ponenda-sine-neccesitate-entities-should-not-be/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Intuitive cognition of a thing is cognition that enables us to know whether the thing exists or does not exist, in such a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/intuitive-cognition-of-a-thing-is-cognition-that-enables-us-to-know/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-are-not-to-be-multiplied-beyond-necessity/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/of-two-equivalent-theories-or-explanations-all-other-things-being/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Plurality should not be assumed without necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/plurality-should-not-be-assumed-without-necessity/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, and 7 is a prime. Why bother with non-prime numbers when the primes can do everything?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/3-is-a-prime-5-is-a-prime-and-7-is-a-prime-why-bother-with-non-prime/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [For nothing ought to be posited without a reason given, unless it is self-evident (literally, known through itself) or known by experience or proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/for-nothing-ought-to-be-posited-without-a-reason-given-unless-it-is/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [My God is the green tide in the spring leaves the redness of cherries high in the air the excitement of shooting stars the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/my-god-is-the-green-tide-in-the-spring-leaves-the-redness-of-cherries/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [“It is futile to do with more what can be done with fewer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/it-is-futile-to-do-with-more-what-can-be-done-with-fewer/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [“Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-should-not-be-multiplied-beyond-necessity/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/entities-must-not-be-multiplied-beyond-necessity/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) [Explore all 24 William of Ockham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) ## More Entity quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The body is thus not simply an 'entity', but is experienced as a practical mode of coping with external situations and events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-body-is-thus-not-simply-an-entity-but-is-experienced-as-a/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [We've established the most enormous medical entity ever conceived... and people are sicker than ever. We cure nothing! We heal nothing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/we-ve-established-the-most-enormous-medical-entity-ever-conceived-and/) [Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/) > [Fasting is not bodily hunger but bodily elevation and purity. It is not a body that hungers and longs for food, but a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/fasting-is-not-bodily-hunger-but-bodily-elevation-and-purity-it-is/) [Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-shenouda-iii-of-alexandria/) > [The earth itself assures us it is a living entity. Deep below surface one can hear its slow pulse, feel its vibrant rhythm. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-waters/the-earth-itself-assures-us-it-is-a-living-entity-deep-below-surface/) [Frank Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-waters/) > [I have often noticed that the two nuclear powers on the Indian subcontinent, India and Pakistan, attribute to Kashmiris an inferior intellect, a lineage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/i-have-often-noticed-that-the-two-nuclear-powers-on-the-indian/) [Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/) > [The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-state-is-the-great-fictitious-entity-by-which-everyone-seeks-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The Oslo Accords in 1993 determined that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are a single territorial entity which cannot be divided. Immediately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-oslo-accords-in-1993-determined-that-the-gaza-strip-and-the-west/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Now when I say Sophie Ellis-Bextor I feel that's not really me because that's become this entity from doing the gigs and the shows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-when-i-say-sophie-ellis-bextor-i-feel-that-s-not-really-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have never been normal about my body. It has always seemed to me a strange and foreign entity. I don't know that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/i-have-never-been-normal-about-my-body-it-has-always-seemed-to-me-a/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) [Browse all 739 Entity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William of Ockham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary-the-number-of-entities/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Entity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary-the-number-of-entities/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/william-of-ockham-23662_entity_never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary_2244259.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.” — William of Ockham", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William of Ockham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never increase, beyond what is necessary,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary-the-number-of-entities/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/never-increase-beyond-what-is-necessary-the-number-of-entities/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```