The Line of Reasoning

Eight words for the work of thinking clearly, and defending what you conclude.

Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.

1. 1 inference noun
2. 2 premise noun
3. 3 scrutinize verb
4. 4 contemplate verb
5. 5 empirical adjective
6. 6 dubious adjective
7. 7 paradoxically adverb
8. 8 judiciously adverb

Nelson's word

noun

Inference. A noun, and one I file with great care, because it is not a guess and it is not a fact. It is the conclusion you reach when you read the evidence and reason your way forward. You do not see the whole event; you see the traces it left, and you infer the rest. The wet umbrella by the door supports the inference that it rained. Notice the root, fer, which means to carry: an inference is a conclusion you carry in from the evidence you have. State it precisely, because a careful inference is the difference between knowing and merely supposing.

From the muddy prints on the sill, the detective drew the inference that someone had climbed in.

Nelson's word

noun

Premise. A noun, and the foundation of any argument, so I file it near the very bottom of the stack. A premise is a statement you accept as true so that you can build your reasoning on top of it. If the premise is sound, the argument has a chance; if the premise is shaky, everything above it wobbles. But mark this: premise wears two hats. As a noun it names the foundation, a shaky premise. As a verb it means to base something on that foundation: she premises her case on the new data. Same word, different job, and we sort those hats in Practice.

Her whole case rested on one shaky premise that no one had checked.

Vinny's word

verb

Scrutinize! To examine a thing closely, critically, refusing to let a single flaw slip past you! When the editors scrutinize every claim, they do not skim; they inspect, they test, they hunt for the crack in the argument. That is the verb, and it is mine, and it is heroic work, because sloppy thinking hides from a lazy eye and cannot hide from a scrutinizing one. Do not merely look at your reasoning. Scrutinize it, and let nothing weak survive.

The editors scrutinize every claim in the report before it goes to print.

Vinny's word

verb

Contemplate! To hold a thought in your mind and turn it over, long and carefully, until you truly understand it! When she contemplates the offer, she does not answer on the spot; she weighs it, she considers every angle, she gives the thinking the time it deserves. That is the verb, and it is mine, though I confess it is a quieter kind of heroism than most of my work. To contemplate is to refuse the easy, hasty answer. Great decisions are contemplated, never blurted.

She contemplates the offer for a full week before she answers.

Jake's word

adjective

Empirical. An adjective, and mine, and a favorite among careful thinkers. It describes knowledge that comes from observation or experiment, from what you actually see and measure, not from what you merely suppose. Empirical evidence is evidence you can point to. Its Frown is theoretical, the idea that lives only in the mind, untested. Could we be more specific than saying the proof was real? We could say it was empirical, which tells the reader it was observed, not just argued. Same picture, sharper edges. Magnifique.

The scientists wanted empirical proof, so they ran the test themselves.

Jake's word

adjective

Dubious. An adjective, mine, and a useful one for a careful reader. It describes a thing you doubt, a claim you cannot quite trust, a source that has not earned your confidence. A dubious promise, a dubious statistic, a dubious excuse: each one raises an eyebrow. Its Frown is certain, the thing you can rely on completely. Could we be more specific than saying a claim seemed shaky? We could call it dubious, and tell the reader exactly why we hesitate to believe it. Precision, always.

The salesman made a dubious promise that sounded too good to be true.

Benny's word

adverb

Paradoxically. An adverb, and I own it the way Nelson owns his nouns. It marks a moment when two true things seem to fight each other, and yet both hold. Paradoxically, the quietest student wrote the boldest essay. See how the word warns your reader that a surprise is coming, a truth that folds back on itself? That is a sharp tool, and I want you using it. When your writing hits one of those knots where the sense seems backward and yet stands, reach for paradoxically. Make it sharper, and the reader leans in.

Paradoxically, the more she practiced, the more she realized how much she still had to learn.

Benny's word

adverb

Judiciously. An adverb, and mine, describing an action done with good, careful judgment, the way a wise judge weighs a case. When the captain spends her supplies judiciously, she does not waste and she does not hoard; she chooses well, at the right moment, for the right reason. Its opposite is recklessly, and I never want to catch your writing there. This is a coach's favorite word, because judgment is a muscle. Use your evidence judiciously, choose your words judiciously, and your whole argument grows stronger. You can do better than careful, and here is how: be judicious.

The captain spends her supplies judiciously, saving the last flare for a true emergency.