Patterns of Plausible Inference
2025-08-10 clippings mentalmodel extremelyimportant logic math sketch
Original: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_and_Plausible_Reasoning.
This post contains my notes and highlights on the original content. I marked my notes with ‘Baris:’, for differentiating them from the original text.
Volume II: Patterns of Plausible Inference
This volume attempts to formulate certain patterns of plausible reasoning. The relation of these patterns with the calculus of probability are also investigated. Their relation to mathematical invention and instruction are also discussed. The following are some of the patterns of plausible inference discussed by Polya.
| Sl. No. | Premise 1 | Premise 2 | Premise 3 | plausible conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A implies B | B is true | – | A is more credible. |
| 2 | A implies Bn+1 | Bn+1 is very different from the formerly verified consequences B1, B2, . . . , Bn of A | Bn+1 true | A much more credible |
| 3 | A implies Bn+1 | Bn+1 is very similar to the formerly verified consequences B1, B2, . . . , Bn of A | Bn+1 true | A just a little more credible |
| 4 | A implies B | B is very improbable in itself | B is true | A very much more credible |
| 5 | A implies B | B is quite probable in itself | B is true | A is just a little more credible |
| 6 | A analogous to B | B is true | – | A is more credible |
| 7 | A analogous to B | B is more credible | – | A is somewhat more credible |
| 8 | A is implied by B | B is false | – | A is less credible |
| 9 | A is incompatible with B | B is false | – | A is more credible |
See Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning (book) by Polya
Incoming Internal References (0)
Outgoing Web References (1)
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_reasoning "Plausible reasoning"
- plausible reasoning
