Hanlon's razor facts for kids

Hanlon's razor is a clever saying that helps us understand why bad things sometimes happen. It goes like this:

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

In simpler words, this means that when something goes wrong, it's often not because someone had bad intentions or wanted to cause harm. Instead, it might be because they made a mistake, didn't think things through, or just weren't careful enough. It's about giving people the benefit of the doubt and considering that accidents or simple errors are more likely than someone trying to be mean on purpose.

What is Hanlon's Razor?

Hanlon's razor is a principle or a rule of thumb. It suggests that if you can explain a negative event by someone's mistake or lack of thought, you should choose that explanation first. This is usually better than assuming they acted with a bad heart or tried to cause trouble.

Who Came Up with Hanlon's Razor?

The saying is linked to a person named Robert J. Hanlon from Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. His friend, Joseph Bigler, said that Hanlon first used this idea in something he wrote. It was for a collection of jokes and funny thoughts related to Murphy's law. This collection was published in a book in 1980. The book was called Murphy's Law Book Two, More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong. The name "Hanlon's razor" was inspired by another famous thinking rule called Occam's razor.

Are There Similar Sayings?

Yes, there are many other sayings that are like Hanlon's razor. One example is: "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence" (meaning, never assume bad intentions when someone just isn't good at something). This similar idea has been connected to the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein. He used a similar thought in his short story "Logic of Empire," which came out in 1941. Sometimes, people have also wrongly said that Napoleon Bonaparte came up with this idea.