Occam's Razor

In its simplest form, Occam's Razor states that one should make no more assumptions than needed. When multiple explanations are available for a particular event, the simplest version is preferred. A charred tree on the ground could be caused by a landing alien ship or a lightning strike. According to Occam's Razor, the lightning strike is the preferred explanation as it requires the fewest assumptions and is the most likely.

When discussing Occam's Razor with regards to the practise of medicine,doctors and philosophers of medicine speak of diagnostic parsimony. Diagnostic parsimony advocates that when diagnosing a given injury, ailment, illness, or disease a doctor should strive to look for the fewest possible causes that will account for all the symptoms.
Here's a sterling example: We have tutorials twice every week. During each session we are faced with problem cases ie:
Mr. W,23 went to see the GP complaining of abdominal cramps, vomitting, diarrhoea and fever. Discuss.

So basically, what we are supposed to do is come up with differential diagnoses as to what could be causing these problems. So here we have ambitious third year students armed with all this knowledge from the first 2 years of our career as medical students, of a whole myriad of diseases....and being the over-zealous idiots that we are ,come up with some of the most ludicrous causes for Mr.W's symptoms.
You have suggestions ranging from a neuroblastoma, to hydrocepahlus to Meniere's syndrome, appendicitis and of course gastritis, gastroenteritis, will eventually be mentioned. At this point the overseeing doctor stops us in our tracks...and says to us with a small smile..........'Remember,common things occur commonly. And if you logically rationalise the history of this patient, the odds are its a simple case of food poisoning.

Occum's Razor has quite a significance in every day life ,more than we think. In science, biology,statistics, crime -solving...why the boyfriend or girlfriend didn't call......it can always be applied...and should be.
Its all a matter of simplicity and logic.