General Vocab Flashcards
quixotic
- foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals
- capricious, unpredictable
ubiquitous
existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread
Inductive
Inductive is used to describe reasoning that involves using specific observations, such as observed patterns, to make a general conclusion. This method is sometimes called induction. Induction starts with a set of premises, based mainly on experience or experimental evidence. It uses those premises to generalize a conclusion.
For example, let’s say you go to a cafe every day for a month, and every day, the same person comes at exactly 11 am and orders a cappuccino. The specific observation is that this person has come to the cafe at the same time and ordered the same thing every day during the period observed. A general conclusion drawn from these premises could be that this person always comes to the cafe at the same time and orders the same thing.
While inductive reasoning can be useful, it’s prone to being flawed. That’s because conclusions drawn using induction go beyond the information contained in the premises. An inductive argument may be highly probable, but even if all the observations are accurate, it can lead to incorrect conclusions.
Deductive
Deductive reasoning (also called deduction) involves starting from a set of general premises and then drawing a specific conclusion that contains no more information than the premises themselves. Deductive reasoning is sometimes called deduction (note that deduction has other meanings in the contexts of mathematics and accounting).
Here’s an example of deductive reasoning: chickens are birds; all birds lay eggs; therefore, chickens lay eggs. Another way to think of it: if something is true of a general class (birds), then it is true of the members of the class (chickens).
Deductive reasoning can go wrong, of course, when you start with incorrect premises. For example, look where this first incorrect statement leads us: all animals that lay eggs are birds; snakes lay eggs; therefore, snakes are birds.
The scientific method can be described as deductive. You first formulate a hypothesis—an educated guess based on general premises (sometimes formed by inductive methods). Then you test the hypothesis with an experiment. Based on the results of the experiment, you can make a specific conclusion as to the accuracy of your hypothesis.
Inductive vs. deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning involves starting from specific premises and forming a general conclusion, while deductive reasoning involves using general premises to form a specific conclusion.
Conclusions reached via deductive reasoning cannot be incorrect if the premises are true. That’s because the conclusion doesn’t contain information that’s not in the premises. Unlike deductive reasoning, though, a conclusion reached via inductive reasoning goes beyond the information contained within the premises—it’s a generalization, and generalizations aren’t always accurate.
discrete
- constituting a separate entity : individually distinct
- consisting of distinct or unconnected elements : noncontinuous
- taking on or having a finite or countably infinite number of values
transient
- passing especially quickly into and out of existence : transitory
- passing through or by a place with only a brief stay or sojourn
- passing especially quickly into and out of existence : transitory
- affecting something or producing results beyond itself
Epistemology
the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity
volition
the power of choosing or determining : will
vindicate
confirm
extant
currently or actually existing
dearth
- scarcity that makes dear
- an inadequate supply : lack
sovereignty
- a: supreme power especially over a body politic
b: freedom from external control : autonomy
c: controlling influence
2: one that is sovereign
especially : an autonomous state
Idiosyncracy
- a peculiarity of constitution or temperament : an individualizing characteristic or quality
- individual hypersensitiveness (as to a drug or food)
- eccentricity
Taxonomy
Classification
the study of the general principles of scientific classification
Spurious
- of falsified or erroneously attributed origin : forged
- of a deceitful nature or quality
Rigmarole
something (such as a procedure or an explanation) that is long, complicated, and tedious
bespoke
custom-made
pervasive
existing in or spreading through every part of something
secular
- of or relating to the worldly or temporal
- not overtly or specifically religious
anathema
- someone or something intensely disliked or loathed
—usually used as a predicate nominative - cursed
Axiomatic
Axiom
- Self-evident, taken for granted.
- an established rule or principle or a self-evident truth
Pervade
: to become diffused throughout every part of
remit
Chiefly British. A set of instructions, a brief; an area of authority or responsibility. Frequently in within (also beyond, etc.) one’s remit.
