Remembering the basics

I was helping someone out with a statistics problem and after a good look they seemed to be on the right track. Then I started thinking, over-thinking to be more precise. I started thinking of really complex and convoluted formulae for solving the problem.

After 10mins of this, I realized the answer was right in the first place.

That's just plain silly.

Remember: The answer isn't always so complicated. In any work that you do, look for the simple solution first. If it works, that's most likely the answer. If not, then keep working. As a button once so elegantly stated, "Keep it simple, stupid."

Nice.

parsimony: n. principle of using the least resources or explainations to solve a problem
-- see also Occam's Razor