Life Is Simple: How Occam's Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe

The simplest solution is often the correct one. In this book, the author traces the history of "simplicity" in science. The book starts with the history of William of Ockham and the intermingling of religion and science. Scientific work was almost exclusively carried out by religious orders in the Islamic and Christian world. Proving religious teachings often went hand and hand with gaining understanding of the natural world. This could often lead to conflicts when the understanding of the natural world did not square with the current religious dogma. There were also many attempts to create complex systems to ensure that observations matched the current accepted view.

Science gradual grew as established systems were brushed aside. Simple interpretations replaced the complex explanations. This often required throwing away some of the past work. Some of the people that moved science forward were respected in their lives. Others were castigated. This book traces many advancements in simplification from the middle ages to Einstein and beyond. Scientists are not perfect and even great scientists have made mistakes. While science has moved out of traditional religion, it can still be constrained by internal and external dogma and politics. As our understanding grows in everything from the smallest subatomic particles to the expanse of the universe, the quest for the simplest solution continues.