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"Occam’s Razor," also called the law of economy or law of parsimony, is a principle stated by William of Ockham (1285–1347/49) that pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate, “plurality should not be posited without necessity.” The principle argues for simplicity. Of any number of competing theories, the simplest explanation should be the preferred place to begin. Fictional detectives use Occam's Razor to deduce the likeliest suspect. Doctor's follow it to diagnose illnesses. As rules of thumb go, it has panache. And Occam's Razor sounds so much classier than Keep It Simple, Stupid.

I should have recalled Occam's Razor when considering the title of this watercolor. It highlights a couple of wild daisies, one of which hosts some kind of wee insect. Nothing More. "Wild Daisies," for example, would be a simple title. But I got sidetracked because the painting sat unfinished for a month or two. I saw it every day, planning to give it just a few tweaks to suggest more daisies in the background (by means of negative space, the power of suggestion, and - as always - vague hope I would intuit when to stop farting around). I didn't get around to it because, like yours, my schedule grows busier over the holidays. I looked at this painting almost every day, and soon enough the song Bicycle Built for Two became my tune pollution. You know it, sing along:  "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do..."

When I finally tweaked the painting and uploaded it to this site, the first title I considered was Bicycle Built for Two.

Then, wanting to make it even more of a riddle, I considered the title Hal 9000's Song. Which was not obscure enough, so I abbreviated that to just Hal's Song. If you wonder what the heck I'm talking about, allow me to note that Bicycle Built for Two is the song the Hal 9000 computer ("Hal") sings while his memory is being disconnected in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Luckily common sense intervened and I abandoned that thread, at which point I considered a raft of titles in reference to the wee bug. A Bug's Life, Getting Buggy With It, and so on. All overkill. all stupid. It's embarrassing, really.

He loves me, He loves me not?  Nah.

Driving Miss Daisy? Uh uh.

Whoopsy Daisy? No!

Pushing Up the Daisies? NO!

In an earlier Blog Entry, I teased a bit about my painting friend Canan's down to earth one word naming philosophy (Fish, Rooster, Ocean, Tree, etc.). But this daisy painting is a case where her methodology pointed the true way. Bicycle Built for Two? Too much nonsense having nothing to do with the painting itself. Daisies? Yes. The simpler answer is the preferred answer. Thank you Canan.

And thank you Occam's Razor.

p.s. Apologies if Bicycle Built for Two becomes your earworm today....