Make Your Point: HANLON'S RAZOR

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HANLON'S RAZOR

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pronounce HANLON'S RAZOR:

HAN lunz RAY zur

connect this word to others:

With thanks to Sketchplanations, here's Hanlon's razor in a nutshell:

(Source)

As we explore that term today, see if you can recall the meaning of a similar one:

Occam's razor suggests that we can improve theories and explanations by shaving away a certain something. Can you recall what that something is?

definition:

I bet you've heard this said: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." In other words, don't assume that people are being jerks on purpose while targeting you, personally, because they hate you; instead, assume they're being stupid, or ignorant, or incompetent, or oblivious.

It's good advice, and it's very old. It's been attributed to many different speakers and writers over the years. In 1980, it appeared in a book under a new label: "Hanlon's razor." Apparently a guy from Pennsylvania named Robert J. Hanlon decided on the name, and that's what we've gone with ever since.

Hanlon's razor is the rule or idea that when people have caused you problems or pain, it's better for you to assume that they did it accidentally (because they were being stupid) and not purposefully (because they were being mean).

The "razor" here is cleaning up your point of view. It's simplifying and improving your thinking, shaving away all the unfounded assumptions about malice, which is rarer and more complicated than plain old stupidity.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Proper noun: "an appeal to Hanlon's razor;" "Let's use Hanlon's razor."

Other forms:

None that I've seen.

how to use it:

"Hanlon's razor" has a positive tone, suggesting a magnanimous attitude. I love that.

Even though the idea behind it is common and easily understood, the term itself is rare. So if you use it, you probably should gloss it (define it immediately as you say or write it).

You might talk about people accepting, applying, or remembering Hanlon's razor, or failing to.

Or you might say that someone's guess, assumption, attribution, or ascription abides by Hanlon's razor, or violates it.

examples:

"Hanlon's razor is a corollary of [Occam's razor]. Stupidity is simpler than malice. Therefore, stupidity is a better explanation on the grounds that it's simpler."
— Exciting-Access-5852, Reddit, 2 May 2021

"Usually, when I see a big corporation acting badly or stupidly, I tend to... revert to Hanlon's Razor: 'never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.' But when I look at the pernicious software that's getting preinstalled on phones these days, the only rational explanation I can come up with is the reverse: it's malice. This is about backroom deals and money."
— Dieter Bohn, The Verge, 10 March 2016

has this page helped you understand "Hanlon's razor"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "Hanlon's razor" without saying "rule out stupidity before you ascribe ill will" or "assume incompetence before assuming hate."

try it out:

I love using Hanlon's razor.

That guy in the Tesla just cut me off? Nothing personal, he's probably just a crummy driver on the daily. Somebody scratched up my car with their grocery cart? Eh, I doubt they had it out for me; they probably just forgot to put it where it goes. Another kid in my kid's class invited everyone but my kid to their birthday party? Their parents probably just forgot to double-check the list. With Hanlon's razor, I'm not adding any sense of hostility to these little frustrations. And as a result, I'm more relaxed, I'm happier, and I'm a more pleasant person to be around.

In other words, I believe Hanlon's razor can increase our happiness. Talk about whether you agree or disagree.

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "The Tip of the Tongue!"

You know how sometimes you'll be reaching for a perfect word, and it's right there at the tip of your tongue, where you can almost taste it? Somehow that word is caught in the liminal space between your memory and your mouth. This month, let's play with that experience, and practice resolving it to our satisfaction.

I'll give you a short quote from Chris Palmer's heartfelt and eye-opening new book, Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life, along with a blank where Chris has deployed a truly perfect word. To help bring that word to the tip of your tongue, I'll describe it both physically and semantically.

Try this one today:

"It would be _____ and wrong to claim that dying patients who want to hasten their deaths are clinically depressed."

The word is 2 syllables long. It has a soft C in the middle.

It means "stupidly easy: assumed without thought or effort, and therefore shallow and lacking in nuance."

To reveal the right word, scroll to the bottom of the issue.

review this word:

1. The idea that most directly opposes HANLON'S RAZOR is

A. SYNDICALISM: the notion that the working class should overthrow the capitalists.
B. RESISTENTIALISM: the notion that even inanimate objects are out to hurt you, like the chair leg that always stubs your toe.
C. the VILLAGE VENUS EFFECT: the failure to recognize that your own experiences are limited, like believing that the loveliest girl in your town is the loveliest in the entire world.

2. A user on Reddit complained that their husband chopped down an important tree in their yard without permission, destroying a symbol of generations of familial happiness. Some users who responded to the complaint applied Hanlon's razor, _____.

A. recommending an open conversation about the tree's value and, going forward, more communication about each other's plans and expectations
B. suggesting that the husband, in his zeal to landscape the yard, may have failed to even consider that the tree might hold emotional value
C. accusing the husband of not just maliciously removing the tree but also secretly planning to empty their bank accounts and destroy various heirlooms

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HANLON'S RAZOR

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