Deductive vs Inductive
📋 What it is
Deductive reasoning guarantees the conclusion if the premises are true; inductive reasoning makes it likely, not certain.
🗣️ Coach says
Deductive is airtight: if the premises are true, the conclusion MUST be true (“all cats are mammals; Milo is a cat; so Milo is a mammal”). Inductive is a strong bet: “the sun rose every day so far, so it’ll rise tomorrow” — very likely, not guaranteed.
🧠 Memory hook
Deductive = guaranteed. Inductive = likely. Guarantee vs good bet.
😂 Giggle
Why was the truth table always honest?
Because it could never be anything but TRUE or FALSE!
😲 Whoa!
All of science runs on inductive reasoning — no experiment can PROVE a law forever, only support it strongly. That’s why science stays open to new evidence.
✅ Quick check: “Every swan I’ve seen is white, so all swans are white.” Deductive or inductive — and is it safe?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Inductive — and not safe: black swans exist in Australia, so many examples still don’t guarantee the rule.
Inductive reasoning generalises from cases and can be overturned by one counterexample.
🪄 Trick question: Is a conclusion from true premises by valid deduction ever wrong?
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
No — if the premises are true and the deduction is valid, the conclusion cannot be false; that’s what “valid” guarantees.
Validity means the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Write one deductive chain (“all… is… so…”) and one inductive bet (“every time so far… so probably…”). Label each.