Sutton's law

Sutton's law states that in attempting to diagnose a problem, one should first do the experiment that can confirm the most likely diagnosis. It is taught in medical schools to guide new doctors in ordering tests in a way that leads to faster treatment, while minimizing unnecessary costs. It is also applicable to other disciplines, such as debugging computer programs.

A more thorough analysis will consider the false positive rate of the test and the possibility that a less likely diagnosis might have more serious consequences.

The law is named after the bank robber Willie Sutton, who supposedly answered a reporter inquiring why he robbed banks by saying "because that's where the money is." He later denied saying it, however.

A similar idea is contained in the physician's adage, "When you hear hoofbeats in Texas, think horses, not zebras."

ee also

*Occam's razor

References

*Citation
last1 = Altman | first1 = Lawrence
title = A Law Named for Willie Sutton Assists Physicians
newspaper = The New York Times
date = 1970-01-03
year = 1970
*cite journal
last = Rytand
first = David
authorlink =
title = Sutton's or Dock's Law?
journal = New England Journal of Medicine
volume = 306
issue = 17
pages = 1263–8