“A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.” While his primary aim was to make people laugh, this Groucho Marx quote nicely summarises the fundamental problem with magical thinking. That being, when you hear hoof beats, you should think horses – not zebras. This idea, known as ‘Occam’s razor’, or the law of parsimony, is a guiding scienti fic principle … Continue reading Magical Thinking in a Modern World