Here's my viral thought of the day: "Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate"

This is one of those maxims that I've pondered a lot and incorporated into my personal philosophy, which, as personal philosophies should, applies to work, to politics, to drinking, childrearing, etc. It was coined by William of Occam a Franciscan monk who is thought to have died in the black death.

The strict translation is "plurality should not be posited without necessity." Its meaning was more likely "Don't multiply entities beyond necessity" (meant in theological and philosophical sense, and I first came upon it while reading medieval theology in college, but it literally applies to tax structures). Its called Ockam's razor and in popular usage is shortened to mean "don't complicate things" or altered to mean "the simplest solution is the best solution."

As with any good maxim, I can't tell you what it "really" means, because its like a rosarch test. For me its a reminder to be skeptical of complexity. An example is at work, where I always try to start a project in its simplest form, its most basic structure and interrogate any proposed increase in complexity; for me simplicity is the baseline and complexity bears the burden of proving its necessity. Glenn, you will soon appreciate this maxim when it comes to raising kids. Its been my experience that mothers tend to make everything more complicated than is necessary.