Hanlon's Razor Sticker
Designed and sold by Sketchplanations
$3.19
$2.39 when you buy any 4+
$1.91 when you buy any 10+
$2.39 when you buy any 4+
$1.91 when you buy any 10+
$3.19
Product features
- Decorate and personalize laptops, water bottles, and more
- Removable, kiss-cut vinyl stickers
- Super durable and water-resistant
- 1/8 inch (3.2mm) white border around each design
- Glossy finish for vibrant, eye-catching colors
- For orders with 2+ small stickers, they will be printed in pairs with two stickers on one sheet to reduce sheet waste
- Since every item is made just for you by your local third-party fulfiller, there may be slight variances in the product received
Hanlon's Razor
Hanlon's Razor is the adage: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
Or sometimes, "Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence."
The mistake of assuming bad intentions was brought home to me when puzzling why people kept leaving paper towels in the sinks of the bathrooms at university. How hard is it to put them in the bin?? A year after assuming my fellow students were either lazy or inconsiderate or both, I was washing my hands when another student dried his hands on the towel, walked to the door, opened it by covering the handle with the paper towel — presumably to avoid the germs — and then aimed his paper towel at the bin which was between the sinks. He missed, and it landed in the sink as he walked off down the corridor. Suddenly, it was clear to me that the hygiene of the door handle was higher in consideration of towel-in-the-sink people than whether or not their towel hit their target (and whether it was worth checking if their towel had hit the bin). It made sense. Someone later moved the bin next to the door, and it didn't happen again.
Besides towels in sinks, I've seen people get mad at others pushing in line when the pushers-in didn't realise other people were queuing. I've seen drivers shouting at another driver who's in blissful ignorance of the trouble they've caused. I've seen agents blamed for terrible customer service when the system is at fault, and customer service blame users when the product is at fault. I've seen people despairing at others leaving litter in the park or on the street when animals had dragged out the mess overnight. I've seen people vilified for not moving down on a train when they weren't aware of the squeeze at the other end. And, usually, I think people aren't smart or capable enough, or in fact wicked enough, to carry out the conspiracies that people credit them for. Very often it's the person assuming bad intentions and getting mad who suffers the most.
To be sure, there are different degrees of negligence. We can all make mistakes, but if you're doing your taxes, it's not okay to make a mistake because you didn't read the instructions. If you're standing on a busy train, you owe it to others to be aware that you may be blocking an aisle, and we should do our best to make sure our rubbish stays where we put it. But none of us are perfect and so often I think Hanlon's Razor has some truth to it.
Perhaps a better formulation of Hanlon's Razor would be, "Before attributing to malice, try attributing to incompetence."
Also available on
Looking for something different?
Search below.Related Tags
Stickers Tags
This section provides a collection of tags that relate to the Sticker on this page. These tags each link to a search for the Stickers that relate to the tag.
All Product Tags
This section provides a collection of tags that each link to a search for any products that relate to the tag.
Trending topics
This section provides a collection of tags that each link to a search for any products that relate to the tag.
Secure Payments
100% Secure Payment with 256-bit SSL encryption
