Sagan's Razor
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
The weight of proof rests with the person making a claim, and the more unusual the assertion, the more substantial the evidence needed.
You should ask for solid proof if someone says they saw a unicorn.
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"A “Razor” is a rule of thumb that simplifies decision making. A philosophical razor is a principle or rule of thumb that helps simplify (shave off) decision-making by eliminating unlikely or less plausible explanations / hypotheses. All credits for Clint Murphy.
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Similar ideas to Sagan's Razor
The Sagan Standard
The Sagan standard is related to astronomer Carl Sagan, who stated that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” (a dictum abbreviated as ECREE).
This means that the more unlikely a certain claim is, given existing evidence on the matter, the greater the stan...
Ordinary And Extraordinary Claims
Based on the Sagan standard, if someone claims that they came across a unicorn during they commute, they would be expected to brig stronger evidence in order to verify that claim than if they claimed that they came across a horse.
This happens because there is significant evidenc...
How To Implement The Sagan Standard
The more unlikely a claim is, the more supporting substantial the evidence that you should require before accepting it as true.
When presented with a certain claim, you should expect the strength of evidence that is used to support it to be proportional to how unlikely tha...
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