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Full Idea
The best theory is almost always boring. …The claim that all planets move in ellipses is interesting, and the claim that some do not is not interesting.
Gist of Idea
The best theory is boring: compare 'all planets move elliptically' with 'most of them do'
Source
Peter Lipton (Inference to the Best Explanation (2nd) [2004], 09 'Is the best')
Book Ref
Lipton,Peter: 'Inference to the Best Explanation (2nd ed)' [Routledge 2004], p.156
A Reaction
This applies to any extraction of a universal 'law' by induction. The best theory just affirms what has been observed. How could generalising about what you haven't observed be 'better'? Answer: because it goes via the essence.
21386 | We should accept as explanations all the plausible ways in which something could come about [Epicurus] |
12769 | Inference to best explanation contains all sorts of hidden values [Fraassen] |
6784 | Why should the true explanation be one of the few we have actually thought of? [Fraassen, by Bird] |
16183 | In science, best explanations have regularly turned out to be false [Cartwright,N] |
16821 | Must we only have one explanation, and must all the data be made relevant? [Lipton] |
16838 | Bayesians say best explanations build up an incoherent overall position [Lipton] |
16855 | The best theory is boring: compare 'all planets move elliptically' with 'most of them do' [Lipton] |
16852 | Best explanation can't be a guide to truth, because the truth must precede explanation [Lipton] |
3113 | The success and virtue of an explanation do not guarantee its truth [Segal] |
6788 | Maybe bad explanations are the true ones, in this messy world [Bird] |
6787 | Which explanation is 'best' is bound to be subjective, and no guide to truth [Bird] |