Why probability (or Occam's razor) preferences the NDC mechanobiological model of regulation of breastmilk secretion in the human mammary gland
What is the principle of Occam's razor?*
Occam's razor is a guiding principle of logic used in the generation of theories or models. It says that if we have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, we should choose the simpler one.
(This principle is not a biological law, however. In biological systems there are occasions when the facts are better suited by greater complexity - in which case, Occam's razor is not intended to promote oversimplification. If a more complex theory is available that better explains empirical facts, then the more complex theory should be preferred.)
We can think of Occam's razor in terms of basic probability theory. All things can be ascribed a probability of happening. Any extra assumption we add to our theory introduces further possibilities for error. If an assumption isn’t improving the accuracy of a theory, it's simply increasing the probability that the theory is wrong.
Why Occam's razor preferences the NDC mechanobiological models of the regulation of breast milk secretion
Mechanobiology remains overlooked in dominant modelling of milk production mechanisms (as well as in considerations of breast inflammation and nipple pain and damage). Yet the rise and fall of intra-alveolar hydrostatic compression pressures, which occurs in tandem with increasing volumes of stored milk followed by milk removal, is fundamental to human mammary gland activity.
From the perspective of Occam's razor and laws of probability
-
The hydrostatic compression FIL model, derived from the NDC mechanobiological model of milk secretion regulation, is more likely to be true than the bioactive factor FIL model. The latter has failed to explain how the rapidly growing number of proposed bioactive factors actually each result in the negative feedback which downregulates milk secretion.
-
The NDC mechanobiological model of the upregulation of milk secretion is more likely to be true than the poorly elucidated current models of milk secretion upregulation, which rely on a myriad of bioactive factors acting backwards from the milk on the lactocytes, thought these mechanisms of activity remain poorly defined. You can find out about the NDC mechanobiological model of the upregulation of milk secretion here.
Acknowledgements
*In these first three paragraphs about the principle of Okkam's razor I have quoted from an article published in New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/definition/occams-razor/
