Talk:Hanlon's razor

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Suggestion of Early Origin

For what it's worth, my mother frequently used the exact wording of the razor as stated as early as the 1980s, and probably the '70s. (I used to believe it was original to her, though it is clear that that is [probably?] not the case.) The Heinlein quote given in the article is decidedly different. I'm not pretending to know the razor's true origin, but I know it's old. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jqavins (talk • contribs) 14:10, 17 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Well, Hanlon submitted it to a book published in 1980, i.e., he did it in late 1970s. It is quite possible he did not invent the quip himself, just submitted what he heard; we will never know. Unless we find this exact saying printed in 1970s. Staszek Lem (talk) 20:18, 17 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Earlier attributions

Some people said something similar earlier. But we have to cite reliable sources which claim that something said in the past is similar to Hanlon's razor. Otherwise it would be an opinion of a wikipedian (about similarity) hence original research. Hence my revert of "correct" references. Per our policy WP:PRIMARY, refs to primary sources are to be used only as clarifying supplements to refs to secondary sources. Staszek Lem (talk) 20:04, 13 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. See the same issue discussed in earlier sections; archived. Staszek Lem (talk) 20:08, 13 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Dating

I first ran across Hanlon's razor when I saw it posted on the wall of the office of the Fern Creek Neighbor newspaper in Louisville, KY. The newspaper ceased operation in 1982, so this would have been a year or two prior to that.

The version I remember is "Never ascribe to malice that which is more readily attributed to stupidity", and it was tagged "Hanlon's Razor" (though I'm not 100% sure of the spelling of "Hanlon".) drh (talk) 03:01, 21 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]