Throughout the week I have used inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is when someone can make an assumption about something based on premises. It may not be the most reliable reasoning but it can be valid. An example of one from this week is when I had to set up my office hours for my job on campus this week.
Premise: I must work only up to 9.5 hours a week on campus.
Premise: I also go to classes all throughout the week but do not start on Mondays and Wednesdays until 3:00PM.
So as a conclusion: I plan to have most of my office hours on Monday and Wednesday mornings.
I believe this is a inductive argument because I had to use the information I already had to make a statement regarding my possible hours. Figuring out my hours was not really that tough for me because of my easy schedule on Mondays and wednesdays, and because I already had my class schedule set, I was able to plan out an available time slot for me to work in the office. Although it best suits me to have this kind of schedule, it does not mean it is 100% true because I can still change my availability.
I liked how this chapter showed how useful inductive arguments can be in everyday life. It seems like most of the time we don’t even notice that we’re making these arguments. They’re just thoughts at the back of our heads that help us make our decisions. I only realized after reading this chapter that I use inductive arguments in the morning when I’m trying to decide when I should leave for school. It is funny to think that what seems like just plain old common sense to us is actually our minds drawing reasonable conclusions from what we already know.
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