Monday, June 11, 2012

Final Blog Post - Inductive Leap

In the novel Kissing the Rain by Kevin Brooks, an inductive leap too far is made by the main protagonist the creates problems later in the story.

Michael "Moo" Nelson witnesses a crime on a highway in which a man is stabbed. The police investigate the situation and question Moo. He tells the truth and and is scheduled to be a witness in court for the prosecutor. Everything seems fine until he meets Keith Vine. Mr. Vine is accused of the stabbing and orders Moo to change is story and lie in court so he he won't be sent to jail. If Moo tells the truth, Vine promises to hurt him. Detective Callan, who represents the law enforcement tells Moo that he must tell the truth or he will take his father to jail.

As you can see, Moo is in a difficult situation. He must decide if him being hurt or his father being locked away is more important. Moo uses inductive reasoning to make a decision. He figures that Vine will hurt him and that Callan is not likely to actually lock up his father. In the end, Moo decides to "go with the flow" and speak his mind. This angers both parties, which is not good.

This is an inductive leap too far because he does not weigh all of his options and doesn't examine more facts about the situation. Would Callan be allowed to imprison his father? How could Vine hurt him if Vine was in jail? Moo doesn't realize these possibilities and jumps to a conclusion too early. This decision results in two angry men. Moo's friend, Brady, is beaten up by a stranger and sent to the hospital. Moo also lives in fear for the time being.

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