To Parsimony? Or not to Parsimony?

Parsimony: belief that the simplest answer is always right.

Sometimes the toughest riddles can be solved in the simplest of ways.

“What can you stand on, sit on and sleep on? A ladder, a chair and a bed.”

It’s all right there plain as black and white, but is it only black or white? What about the odd grey area that clouds our better judgment and hinders us from reasonable doubt?

I once knew of a girl. She had just gotten home, which she was sharing with her boyfriend. She noticed something weird. The smell of perfume. This was not possible because her boyfriend, was allergic to perfume so neither wore any. She followed the scent and walked towards their bedroom. There, just outside of the doorway, was a shirt. It was her boyfriend’s shirt, the one she bought him on his birthday. It was left there on the floor, its buttons ruined as if it had been ripped off and it stunk of the same perfume. Then she noticed a pair of jeans, its matching belt still in its loops, lying on the floor like the shirt once did earlier. Then the bathroom door swung open and there standing half naked in only his towel was her boyfriend who was supposed to be at work. He greeted her warmly, but she just stood there, giving him a mean look. He had scratches on his chest and neck, scratches she knew she didn’t put them there.

He first looked at the shirt she had in her hands then looked at himself and realize.

"Babe, its not what you think."

It was too late. She threw the shirt at him and stormed out as quickly as she could.

Now, what’s wrong with this story? It’s so simple… right?

He was clearly cheating on her…

No, He wasn’t.

What had happened was, he got off from work to go to buy a birthday gift for a friend. He got to the department store and accidentally bumped into a saleslady who spilled a bottle of perfume all over him. He quickly got into a taxi and went home. Itching to take his clothes off, he ripped his shirt off and pulled down his pants before getting into the shower to wash the itchy, stinky liquid off him.

It’s hard to believe but it’s true. How do I know?

It was my birthday. Two days after the incident, a week before my birthday, he called me to tell me that he and his girlfriend of two years had broken up.

Not everything can be explained and if they can you can’t always expect the simplest of answers. You can’t expect it from everyone, because it can’t always be expected out of you.

It’s so easy to believe the simple explanations in life; it’s fate, wasn’t meant to be, my dog ate it. But problem is life isn’t simple. It’s weird and complex, definitely tough, but worth it. It’s worth to be explored and examined.

Background

This is my brand new blog. I will be using for my present coma101 class in UP Mindanao under Sr. Dennis John Sumaylo.