14 Jun 2005
A Little Latin Goes a Long Way
In beginning of my Googling for more about this book, I came across a bit of information that may help in a holistic approach to themes within the book and perhaps even a rationalization of actions of the protagonist.
Occum's Razor: Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
(translation: No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary. Literally, however, it means "Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.")Occum's Razor is also referred to as the the principle of parsimony. Someone who is parsimonious is frugal, stingy, economical, tight with the moneybags. A scientist following the principle of parsimony practices economy of explanations, i.e., s/he goes with the simplest of explanations to understand a particular observation.
Found by Googling "Haddon + Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," source @ www.thesis.mekerr.com.
More information on Occum's* Razor
*Alternate spellings include Occam and Ockham.
Yes, that's an important principle for making sense of this book, or for finding your way through any tangle of confusing, potentially conflicting set of possibilities.
I'll also recommend http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor
While Wikipedia is uneven as a reference source, it does a good job of introducing a subject (and the hyperlinks are great ways to work your way into a new subject).
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at June 14, 2005 11:36 PM