Occam’s razor
Don’t make more assumptions than necessary to explain something.
‘one should always accept as most likely the simplest explanation that accounts for all the facts’
‘Simpler explanations are more likely to be correct; avoid unnecessary or improbable assumptions.’
From Wikipedia
In philosophy, a razor is a principle that allows you to eliminate unlikely explanations.[1]
To explain something in the simplest possible way?
If you can’t explain something simply, it is often a sign that you either don’t understand it well, or that what you’re expaining isn’t the right approach. See Richard Feynman.
The maxim is attributed to William of Occam, ‘(c. 1285–1349), English philosopher and Franciscan friar. A defender of nominalism, he is known for the maxim called “Occam’s razor”.’[2]
Is William of Occam the inspiration for William of Baskerville in The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco?
See also Hanlon's razor – Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity, Principle of parsimony