Simplicity, Inference and Modelling

The idea that simplicity matters in science is as old as science itself, with the much cited example of Ockham''s Razor, ''entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem'': entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity. A problem with Ockham''s razor is that nearly everybody seems to accept it, but few are able to define its exact meaning and to make it operational in a non-arbitrary way. ...