Hanlon's razor
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Short description Hanlon's razor is an adage, or rule of thumb, that states: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."[1] It is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior. It is purportedly named after one Robert J. Hanlon,[2] who submitted the statement to Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! (1980).[1] Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century.
Origin
The adage was a submission credited in print to Robert J. Hanlon of Scranton, Pennsylvania,[2] 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 1941 novella "Logic of Empire".[3] The character Doc in the story describes the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."[4]
Hanlon's razor became well known after its inclusion in the Jargon File, a glossary of computer programmer slang, in 1990.[5] 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.[6][7] 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".[3] 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.[8][9] In 2002, the Jargon File entry noted the same.[10] The Jargon File now calls it a "Murphyism".[2]
The name was inspired by Occam's razor.[11]
Variations
Grey's law (a humorous parallel to Arthur C. Clarke's 3rd law): Template:Quote
Douglas W. Hubbard quoted Hanlon's razor and added "a clumsier but more accurate corollary": Template:Quote
A variation appears in The Wheels of Chance (1896) by H. G. Wells:
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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.[12]
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A similar quote is also misattributed to Napoleon.[13] 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."[14]Template:Reference page
See also
- Occam's razor
- Hitchens's razor
- Template:Slink
- Finagle's law
- Principle of charity
- Sturgeon's law
- List of eponymous laws
References
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Literature
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