Occam's Razor as a Formal Basis for a Physical Theory

2000/09/07 by Andrei N. Soklakov, Soklakov, Andrei N. · 1 citation
Computer Science · Mathematics · #68Q30 #Computability, Logic, AI Algorithms #FOS: Physical sciences #Logic, programming, and type systems #Mathematical Physics (math-ph) #Mathematical and Theoretical Analysis

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.math-ph/0009007

openalex publication_date 2000/09/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We introduce the principle of Occam's Razor in a form which can be used as a basis for economical formulations of physics. This allows us to explain the general structure of the Lagrangian for a composite physical system, as well as some other artificial postulates behind the variational formulations of physical laws. As an example, we derive Hamilton's principle of stationary action together with the Lagrangians for the cases of Newtonian mechanics, relativistic mechanics and a relativistic particle in an external gravitational field.

Cited by

• General Mathematical Proof of Occam's Razor; Upgrading Theoretical Physicists' Methodology

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