Occam's Razor ... Need A Shave?

         A useful maxim it is called in A Dictionary Of Epidemiology, edited by John M. Last, p.72. The term receives some extra attention with slightly enlarged letters and, distinctive nomenclature like "scientific parsimony" and, "dictum". The quote is given, as stated by, a "William of Occam", who's name is not even attached to his words. He seems to be identified as a Franciscan philosopher who was from Occam, Surrey (England) [ca. 1278 - 1347 A.D.] and, in 1330 moved to Bavaria, Munich. He is quoted ... 

           "the assumptions introduced to explain a thing must not be multiplied beyond necessity."

        Wow ... a scientific parsimony indeed! We all could use a shave ever now and then.

P.S. The text, edited by Last, is a handbook sponsored by the International Epidemiological Association. Published 1983, by Oxford University Press, Oxford. It is listed under Oxford Medical Publications.