If alternative hypotheses equally explain the facts then the simpler hypothesis is preferred.
This principle is used to claim that a simple explanation is correct when, in fact the explanation is not simple but is simplistic - naive and not actually covering the facts. Such uses of Occam's Razor pick a hypothesis and then cherry pick which facts to observe and which to dismiss. Famous examples, challenged by "fringe" archaeology, are common:
The "Clovis First" hypothesis: all humans arrived in America in a single "wave" of migration, after enough of the glacier had receded to make that possible.
- simple [CHECK]
- all the facts [not unless you ignore thousands of examples of pre glacial sites, ignore the absence of Clovis material in Siberia, ignore the obvious diversity of arrowhead design styles] [NO CHECK]
The "No Europeans before Columbus" hypothesis.
- simple [CHECK]
- all the facts [not unless you ignore hundreds of European inscriptions, the tuberculosis resilience of New England's coastal tribes, as well as the general human tendency to go long distances in boats.] [NO CHECK]
The "Indians did not build in stone" hypothesis:
- simple [CHECK]
- all the facts [nope, there is not a single fact supporting this statement. Actually, the statement is not a testable hypothesis, and does not rise to the level of scientific statement] [NO CHECK]
So in practice Occam's Razor is used, not to choose between alternative hypotheses, but to exclude facts from consideration. If you hear Occam's Razor used in a conventional archeological discussion you can be almost certain it is being used to gloss over key details that do not fit the conventional thinking.
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"If the scientific explanation is too hard to understand, make up a deceptively simple fable." - Rev. Nocents' Toothbrush (corollary of Occam's Razor)
July 3, 2013 — “The molecular biologist Sidney Brenner recently invented a delicious play on Occam's Razor, introducing the new term Occam's Broom…”
https://www.businessinsider.com/occams-broom-2013-9
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