We learn most of what we know about the world from induction, if that is defined as extracting generalizations (rules) from experience. A prime example is how vocabulary is learned: the vast majority of words a child learns are learned inductively by observing the context of use. But we learn so many things this way: I recently learned by trial and error the "rule" of how many minutes it takes to ruin a raw egg in the microwave. A child learns that a tower of blocks can go only so high because very high ones keep toppling over. But I have to admit the terminology confuses me. Sherlock Holmes "deduced" many of his conclusions regarding crimes by extracting information from evidence. Is this a different use of "deduce", or am I just hopelessly confused about the whole issue? Dr. Johanna Rubba, Associate Professor, Linguistics Linguistics Minor Advisor English Department California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo E-mail: [log in to unmask] Tel.: 805.756.2184 Dept. Ofc. Tel.: 805.756.2596 Dept. Fax: 805.756.6374 URL: http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/