Occam's razor - simplicity and complexity
Essentially, I seem to gravitate towards Occams razor, a theory from philosophy which states "plurality should not be posited without necessity.”. It's a funny saying, which could do with using its own principle on itself. It basically means, keeps things simple, unless you absolutely have to. If there are two competing theories for explaining something, the simplest one should be preferred. I like this saying so much, it's quoted on the dedication page of my thesis. It's one of those statements where there is no solid way to prove it to be true, you just have to accept it as such, and it does ring true for me.
I do really love spending time thinking on complex problems, most often philosophical, theological, or scientific, and I do love a good paradox to ponder. I can spend many hours happy in my own company, sat in a chair, thinking away and letting my mind wander. Some things will be related directly to my life, where I'm at, what God's saying to me about various things. Some times it's about other people, and things going on in their lives. Some times it's about something very abstract that is in no way related to anything of much use. For example, my manager and I have spent hours discussing about the fact that "noon" doesn't actually exist, because it is a time at which it is exactly 12:00pm, which doesn't last for any length of time, because time is constantly moving. If you dial down to the fine digits, you get to milliseconds, microseconds, nanoseconds etc., but the further you go, the shorter time frame you get to. So in the present, noon doesn't exist (come to think of it, the present doesn't really exist for the same reason). So when you say it's "afternoon", you may be right that it's after that point in time that you can now designate as exactly 12:00 pm, but in the moment that time never existed. Anyway, I digress. I love mind puzzles, and thinking, and probing the things of this world. However, I also find myself seeing very little point in the over complicating of topics (yes, I realise you may think I've just massively over complicated the word "afternoon").
Bandwidth
So, firstly, why is it that I like this principle, and seem to apply it to some areas, but in other areas find myself loving the thought experiments of various theories and paradoxes? Well, one reason is efficiency. There is only so much time available to think and process, only so much head-space to follow the path of my thoughts. So when there is a topic which I just happen to find uninteresting or mundane, I don't want to spent any time thinking about it, I just want to take the simple route and get it done, clearing up head-space for other more interesting things. It's similar to when someone is developing a machine learning algorithm, and each time the model is run on the computer it takes a certain amount of time for the computer to run it. You have to develop strategies of what to run, and when, and develop running queues, so that you are making the best use of the computers resources. This is one reason for my liking of Occams razor, and one which may help me to empathise with robots in the future (yes, that was a joke)
Knowledge puffs up, but Love builds up
Another reason comes back to a biblical principle. Whilst I personally love reading, learning, processing and thinking, and increasing my knowledge in multiple areas, I see very little point in knowledge for knowledge's sake. It says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,". I believe this to be true, and that my life is not my own to do only what I want to do (though there is room for me to enjoy and do things I like). So the resource of my mind and processing should be used for the good works God has prepared for me to do, whatever it is that they are. Further to this, it says in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3:
"We know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God."
There's a lot that could be taken from this passage, but for now I will just be focusing on the "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up". As I say, I love knowledge, and the reason I do is because the more I know and learn about the incredible universe we are in, the more it turns me to worship in awe and wonder of the Creator God who made it all, placed us in it, and sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us all because he loves us so much. If it is true that God created everything, which I believe it is, then all true knowledge (knowledge where it is actually true, and not what we perceive as true), is increasing our understanding of who God is, and revealing more of His character. For me, that always turns me to worship. Often, for me, this comes from an understanding of something in science, and the quote from Francis Collins (also quoted on the dedication page of my thesis) rings very true: "By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship". All of this is true for me and my personal faith, and sometimes when I share these thoughts and revelations with others, it can do the same for them. However, if I was to share this knowledge from a place of wanting people to see how clever I was, rather than wanting them to join me in the worship of God, that's when knowledge starts to puff up. If I was to refuse to simplify a concept so that others could understand it, that is a pride issue, and it puffs us up. That kind of knowledge sharing is not helpful, and is again where Occams razor comes in. If you can simplify it, then do it.
Without necessity
Which brings me to my final point. Occams razor has a caveat, "without necessity". As talked about in my first post, I perceive the world as this intricate web of interrelating dimensions: spiritual, physical and emotional. When seeing it like this, there are many situations which seem to require the need for a certain level of complexity. I don't want to over-complicate if it is not needed, but sometimes I feel like it is needed. However, I often find I have to live from a place where I'm aware that the ultimate reality is that things are complex, but that there are simple interpretations that can work simultaneously (at the same time) as the complex explanations. It takes wisdom to work out in which situations to apply the complexity, and in which ones to apply the simplicity. A simple example is where the bible says that "God is love". Our understanding of love is vastly different for different people, we all have our own ways of being made to feel loved. We know that God always loves us, and nothing can get in the way of that (Romans 8:31-39). Love, in our culture, has been made to be just a feeling, instead of an action. So when we read the passages saying "God is love", we have to understand what is meant by that, and what is Godly love, as opposed to worldy, 21st century western culture love (i.e., don't read in to the bible our experience, but pull out of it what was meant in the original context. On the other hand, if we are to spend some time inviting God to speak to us, and focus on those passages about love, God will often teach us through the Holy Spirit what he actually means by love. Both ways to understand the phrase "God is love" have their merits, one is a bit more complex and requires more knowledge, the other is more simple, both I believe to be right in different ways and at different times. Hence the title of this post using "and" instead of "or", simple and complex explanations and theories of the same topic and coexist, at least in my head.
Knowledge leading to worship
Ultimately, my thirst and love of knowledge boils down to having a love of the truth, and the truth often has multiple facets or ways of seeing it (not to be confused with the notion of "alternate facts", something totally different). I don't mind if the truth is simple or complex, I just want to get to the truth, as God is the ultimate fulfilment of truth. Often, in order to get to the truth I go through the notions of looking at the intricacies of a topic, using my own knowledge and perspectives, seeking God for his, talking with other people, and ultimately ending up in a place of relative certainty of the truth. From that place, I can then worship God regardless of the outcome, because through the processing and knowledge gathering itself, I feel there were revelations of the incredible creation we live in, and hence revelations of the incredible Creator himself. Which brings me to the final of the three quotes on the dedication page of my thesis (I didn't set out to reference them in this post, but it just seemed to happen): Psalm 111:2: "The works of the Lord are great, studied by all of have pleasure in them". I love knowledge, because it is revelations about the works of the Lord, which in-turn reveals to me more about God's character and love for us and His creation, which leads me to worship Him from a place of awe and wonder.
Picture from Getty images
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