A couple of years ago, a new\u00a0topic\u00a0came up during math tutoring:\u00a0 deductive reasoning vs inductive reasoning.\u00a0 What’s the difference?<\/p>\n
There are many ways to\u00a0explain how the two are different.\u00a0\u00a0I’ll explain\u00a0it this way:<\/p>\n
With\u00a0inductive reasoning<\/em>, you notice a few similar situations\u00a0that lead to the same outcome.\u00a0 You ask,\u00a0“Will\u00a0that\u00a0outcome always happen for situations like these?”\u00a0\u00a0Here’s an example:\u00a0\u00a0imagine you move to a new town in a foreign country.\u00a0 You don’t know the local customs.\u00a0 However, the first Sunday you are there,\u00a0a festival happens in the streets.\u00a0 The following Sunday, the festival repeats.\u00a0 You ask yourself, “I wonder if\u00a0every Sunday, there’s a festival in the streets?”\u00a0 That’s inductive reasoning.<\/p>\n You use\u00a0deductive reasoning<\/em> to arrive at new facts from ones you already know.\u00a0 For example, if\u00a0the ticket price on an item is $100 and the sales tax is 12%, you can deduce that you’ll be paying $112 at the register.\u00a0\u00a0In complex cases, such as a sudoku puzzle,\u00a0the original few given facts\u00a0lead the puzzler to new conclusions that lead, ultimately, to the solution.<\/p>\n Note that with inductive reasoning, you develop a hunch that may still be wrong.\u00a0 With deductive reasoning, you are often funneled to one right conclusion.<\/p>\n Scientists who do experiments often begin by using inductive reasoning.\u00a0 Deductive reasoning is the one a detective might more likely use.<\/p>\n