Occam's Razor: When Simple Explanations Save Your Sanity

This week, we break down Occam’s Razor as a practical tool for faster, cleaner decision-making. From troubleshooting bugs to interpreting teammate behavior, we explore why starting with the simplest explanation first prevents stalled projects, wasted cycles, and unnecessary team friction.

What would happen if your team stopped jumping to complex explanations and started solving problems from the simplest point forward?

This week on the Cognition Catalog, we explore Occam’s Razor through a lens most teams rarely consider: operational clarity. We all talk about avoiding assumptions, but the truth is that most slowdowns in cross-functional work happen because we add assumptions instead of stripping them away. Occam’s Razor gives us a mental model to prevent that.

I share a real example of how one missed Friday message spiraled into a completely avoidable narrative—all because I skipped the simplest explanation. But this isn’t just about communication. The same thing happens in product reviews, sprint planning, bug triage, data interpretation, and even strategic debates. The more complexity we add early, the harder it becomes to make good decisions.

We dig into how starting simple doesn’t make you naive, it makes you fast. It helps reduce noise, focus conversations, and unlock the clarity teams need to move forward. If you want a smoother workflow, fewer misunderstandings, and fewer dramatic leaps in logic, give this one a listen.

Topics:

• 00:00 - Introduction: Overthinking Simple Problems

• 00:50 - Welcome to Cognition Catalog

• 01:18 - Sponsor Shoutout: Mobbin

• 02:03 - A Personal Story of Overcomplication

• 02:57 - Understanding Occam's Razor

• 04:50 - Applying Occam's Razor in Team Dynamics

• 06:51 - Practical Takeaways from Occam's Razor

To explore more about the Naive Cynicism, don’t miss the full article @ ⁠cognitioncatalog.com⁠

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