Ockham, Ocham, Occam, or Ocham?

Spelling Trivia

William Ockham of Ockham’s razor

Ockham’s name is misspelled quite often in literature. My best information shows that the original and correct spelling is Ockham. Some of the misspelling’s I've seen are Ocham and Occham.

William came from Ockham which is near Guildford, S.W. of London, just off junction 10 of the M25 with the A3. Medieval spelling was "rubbery" and while the village is now named `Ockham', the spelling `Occam' is frequently used in connection with William. Occam is the Latinized spelling of Ockham

My Webster's shows the razor man to be "Ockham, William of" or "Occam, William
of, see Ockham" neither of which is "Ocham".

William ockham was an english monk philosopher theologian and probable victim of the black death who provided science with a key principle 700 years ago

'What can be done with fewer assumptions is done in vain with more', he said. Or more simply, in explaining any phenomenon, we should prefer to use the simplest explanation with the least number of causes.  Newton had his own version: "Do not needlessly multiply causes."

What happens when we ignore Ockham's razor?  Let's ponder the following quote.

"Give me four parameters and I can fit an elephant.
Give me five and I can wag its tail''
-- (The source? Variants have been attributed to C.F. Gauss, Niels Bohr, Lord Kelvin, Enrico Fermi.)

In other words, if you have 4 variables you can fudge, you can prove most anything (sound like the problem with the CO2 induced global warming model?).you need to face death - it is the key to life - most people never do - most spend a lot of energy running from death - but overcoming the fear of death sets one free. The running is what fuels religion - so sad to see people huddled in a church trying to convince each other they won't die when they die. Are brains have not yet evolved to handle our ability to "what if" about our ultimate fate - our survival instincts fire up and pump up the stress.

I've only met a handful of people that have their feet on the ground - even the smart ones all have a couple little silly magical beliefs they fall for.
you need to face death - it is the key to life - most people never do - most spend a lot of energy running from death - but overcoming the fear of death sets one free. The running is what fuels religion - so sad to see people huddled in a church trying to convince each other they won't die when they die. Are brains have not yet evolved to handle our ability to "what if" about our ultimate fate - our survival instincts fire up and pump up the stress.

I've only met a handful of people that have their feet on the ground - even the smart ones all have a couple little silly magical beliefs they fall for.
you need to face death - it is the key to life - most people never do - most spend a lot of energy running from death - but overcoming the fear of death sets one free. The running is what fuels religion - so sad to see people huddled in a church trying to convince each other they won't die when they die. Are brains have not yet evolved to handle our ability to "what if" about our ultimate fate - our survival instincts fire up and pump up the stress.

I've only met a handful of people that have their feet on the ground - even the smart ones all have a couple little silly magical beliefs they fall for.

Special thanks to Don Lancaster for his help in solving this riddle.

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