Induction

Induction vs. Deduction

de·duc·tion (dĭ-dŭk′shən)
1. The process of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises; reasoning from the general to the specific.
2. A conclusion reached by this process.
Usage The logical processes known as deduction and induction work in opposite ways. When you use deduction, you apply general principles to specific instances. Thus, using a mathematical formula to figure the volume of air that can be contained in a gymnasium is applying deduction. Similarly, you use deduction when applying a law of physics to predict the outcome of an experiment. By contrast, when you use induction, you examine a number of specific instances of something and make a generalization based on them. Thus, if you observe hundreds of examples in which a certain chemical kills plants, you might conclude by induction that the chemical is toxic to all plants. Inductive generalizations are often revised as more examples are studied and more facts are known. Certain plants that you have not tested, for instance, may turn out to be unaffected by the chemical, and you might have to revise your thinking. In this way, an inductive generalization is much like a hypothesis.

in·duc·tion (ĭn-dŭk′shən)
a. The process of deriving general principles from particular facts or instances - reasoning from detailed facts to general principles
b. A conclusion reached by this process.
Syn: generalization, inductive reasoning

gen•er•al•i•za•tion (ˌdʒɛn ər ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən)
a. a proposition asserting something to be true of all members of a class or of an indefinite part of that class.
b. the process of obtaining such propositions.
Usage - reasoning from detailed facts to general principles;
- the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances
- (psychology) transfer of a response learned to one stimulus to a similar stimulus
- carry-over, transfer of training, transfer - application of a skill learned in one situation to a different but similar situation
Source: thefreedictionary.com
— Silvia Rădulescu 2015/07/26 21:10