Given a reference text about Hanlon's razor, when did the adage become well-known?

Hanlon's razor is an adage or rule of thumb that states, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."[1] Known in several other forms, it is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior. It is probably named after Robert J. Hanlon, who submitted the statement to Murphy's Law Book Two (1980).[1] Similar statements have been recorded since at least the 18th century.

Origin
A similar quotation appears in Robert A. Heinlein's novella Logic of Empire (1941).[2] The character "Doc" in Heinlein's story described the "devil theory" fallacy, explaining, "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."[3]

The quotation as such was a submission credited in print to Robert J. Hanlon of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for a compilation of various jokes related to Murphy's law that were published in Arthur Bloch's Murphy's Law Book Two: More Reasons Why Things Go Wrong! (1980).[1] It is unknown whether Hanlon knew of Heinlein's story or whether he independently constructed the phrase.[citation needed]

Hanlon's razor became well-known after its inclusion in the Jargon File, a glossary of computer programmer slang, since 1990.[4] Later that same year, the Jargon File editors noted lack of knowledge about the term's derivation and the existence of a similar epigram by William James, though this was possibly intended as a reference to William James Laidlay.[5][6] In 1996, the Jargon File entry on Hanlon's Razor noted the existence of the phrase in Heinlein's novella, with speculation that Hanlon's Razor might be a corruption of "Heinlein's Razor".[2] The link to Murphy's law was described in a pair of 2001 blog entries by Quentin Stafford-Fraser, citing emails from Joseph E. Bigler.[7][8] Subsequently, in 2002, the Jargon File entry noted the same.[9] Current Jargon File refers to it as a "Murphyism".[10]

The name was inspired by Occam's razor.[11]

Hanlon's razor became well-known after its inclusion in the Jargon File, a glossary of computer programmer slang, since 1990.