Is Parsimony always a good thing?

Parsimony, as explained by the Wikipedia, is a 'less is better' concept of frugality, economy, stinginess or caution in arriving at a hypothesis or course of action.

It is explaining things in a much easier and concised way.

I have always been a sucker for shortcuts, those kinds of shortcuts that do not compromise the quality of work. It saves my time from reading lengthy explanations, so long and so complex that sometimes lead me to confusion which leaves me a different understanding of what the main idea is all about.

Parsimony not only saves my time but also suggests me a solid, concised and uniform explanation. Not is it only beneficial to my part as the reader, but also to the writer as well. She wont be wasting her time explaining something using flowery words, to satisfy the reader. She can use plain sets of words to explain a particular theory. The time saved on it, can still be used to perform other things, and to explain other theories as well.

But all good things have a downside. For example, a person who knows little of a particular subject, when he would ask someone to explain it for him, due to Parsimony, simple explanation is given to him. Yes, it wont create confusion but it doesnt give sufficient information either.


So yes I believe that Parsimony is a good thing, but NOT at all times.


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