Hanlon's razoris anadageorrule of thumbthat states:[1]
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
It is aphilosophical razorthat suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior. It is probablynamed afterRobert J. Hanlon, who submitted the statement toMurphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong!(1980).[1]Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century.
Origin
editThe adage was a submission credited in print to Robert J. Hanlon ofScranton, Pennsylvania,in a compilation of various jokes related toMurphy's lawpublished inArthur Bloch'sMurphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong!(1980).[1]
A similar quotation appears inRobert A. Heinlein's novellaLogic of Empire(1941).[2]The character Doc in the story describes the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."[3]
Hanlon's razor became well known after its inclusion in theJargon File,a glossary of computer programmer slang, in 1990.[4]Later that year, theJargon Fileeditors noted lack of knowledge of the term's derivation and the existence of a similarepigrambyWilliam James,although this was possibly intended as a reference toWilliam James Laidlay.[5][6]In 1996, theJargon Fileentry on Hanlon's Razor noted the existence of the phrase in Heinlein's novella, with speculation that Hanlon's Razor might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor".[2]The link to Murphy's law was described in a pair of 2001 blog entries byQuentin Stafford-Fraser,citing emails from Joseph E. Bigler.[7][8]In 2002, theJargon Fileentry noted the same.[9]TheJargon Filenow calls it a "Murphyism".[10]
The name was inspired byOccam's razor.[11]
Exceptions
editClarke's law (a humorous variant ofArthur C. Clarke's 3rd law):
Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.[12]
Douglas W. Hubbardquoted Hanlon's razor and added "a clumsier but more accurate corollary":
Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals followingincentivesin acomplex system.[13]
Other variations of the idea
editA variation appears inThe Wheels of Chance(1896) byH.G. Wells:
There is very little deliberate wickedness in the world. The stupidity of our selfishness gives much the same results indeed, but in the ethical laboratory it shows a different nature.[14]
A similar quote is also misattributed toNapoleon.[15]Andrew Roberts,inhis biography of Winston Churchill,quotes fromChurchill's correspondence withKing George VIin February 1943 regarding disagreements withCharles De Gaulle:"'His 'insolence... may be founded on stupidity rather than malice.'"[16]: 771
See also
editReferences
edit
- ^abcArthur Bloch(1980).Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong!.Price Stern Sloan.p.52.ISBN9780417064505.
- ^abEric S. Raymond, ed. (24 July 1996)."The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0".jargon-file.org.Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^Robert Heinlein (1 March 1941)."Logic of Empire".Astounding Science-Fiction.Vol. 27, no. 1. p. 39.Retrieved8 August2018.
- ^Guy L. Steele; Eric S. Raymond, eds. (12 June 1990)."The Jargon File, Version 2.1.1 (Draft)".jargon-file.org.Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^Quote Investigator (30 December 2016)."Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity".quoteinvestigator.com.Retrieved24 December2022.
- ^Eric S. Raymond; Guy L. Steele, eds. (15 December 1990)."The Jargon File, Version 2.2.1".jargon-file.org.Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (26 November 2001)."[untitled]".Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^Stafford-Fraser, Quentin (4 December 2001)."The origins of Hanlon's Razor".Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^Eric S. Raymond, ed. (3 March 2002)."The Jargon File, Version 4.3.2".jargon-file.org.Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^"Hanlon's Razor".Jargon File.Eric S. Raymond.3 March 2002.Retrieved19 July2017.
- ^Livraghi, Giancarlo (2004).Il potere della stupidità.Pescara, Italy: Monti & Ambrosini SRL. p. 1.ISBN9788889479131.
- ^Razzetti, Gustavo (8 July 2019)."The world is not out to get you".medium.com.Retrieved29 September2024.
- ^Hubbard 2020,pp. 81–82.
- ^Wells, H.G. (1896).The Wheels of Chance.
- ^Selin, Shannon (14 July 2014)."Napoleon Misquoted - Ten Famous Things Bonaparte Never Actually Said".MilitaryHistoryNow.com.Retrieved12 April2019.
- ^Roberts, Andrew (2019).Churchill: Walking with Destiny.New York: Penguin Books.ISBN9781101981009.
Literature
edit- Hubbard, Douglas W. (2020).The failure of risk management: why it's broken and how to fix it(Second ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.ISBN9781119522034.