Reasoning

The traps of Induction, Deduction, and Insight.

When we use our memories to deal adaptively with the present and the future, we are reasoning. A large part of what we call intelligence is our capacity to reason. We are able to reason in different ways. We can use analogies and induction, or we can use deduction and insight.

Analogies

In an earlier article, we saw that analogies are useful when it comes to understanding difficult issues and that practicing making them helps solve new problems we might face. Next to applying analogies, we can use inductive reasoning to reach conclusions.

Induction

We can use the experiences we’ve had and the observations we’ve made to draw general conclusions about something. We can even use other people’s experiences and observations that — together with our own — provide some evidence for a (seemingly) general truth. This method of reasoning is called inductive reasoning. The problem with this type of reasoning is that the conclusion you reach might not be true at all.

For instance, if you’ve had a bad experience with the IT helpdesk of your organization, and your closest colleague has had a similar bad experience, it would be easy for you to induce from both your experiences that the helpdesk really sucks. Little do you…