Parsimony

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A principle that scientists term parsimony is relevant here. The principle of parsimony dictates that when two theories have the same explanatory power, the simpler theory (the one involving fewer concepts and conceptual relationships) is preferred. The reason is that the theory with fewer conceptual relationships will likely be the more falsifiable of the two in future tests.

- 'How To Think Straight About Psychology' by Keith E. Stanovich


Interesting. I've always thought that the reason to choose the simpler theory is because it's simpler to explain. Also, in the specific case of regression, the explanatory contribution made by the extra factors could be spurious and that fewer factors mean fewer data to deal with.

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