Is this dangerous?

vandyzach

Hello all,

Whenever you start applying rules to arrive at inferences, do you go methodically through your list of rules with each piece of info you have? For example, if you know that V is in, do you go through each of your [however many] rules AND THEN take another piece of info you get from what you found with V being in and go methodically through your rules with THAT piece of info?

Or, rather, do you see what happens when V is in and "let the inferences fly from your pencil", so to speak? I have noticed that I do it this way naturally, and while it is quite an amazing feeling when all those inferences come together and it's just like bam-bam-bam, I feel like I may get a piece of information from an inference and then forget to apply a rule to it.

For example, if, from an inference I made, I discover that Z must be in, and Z being in kicks two rules, I feel like if I do not go through the rules methodically with my new piece of information, I might miss one of the rules that Z being in kicks.

But the problem with going methodically through the rules is that it seems unintuitive. I feel that it is much more intuitive to just let the inferences fly off my pencil than to take each piece of info I get and methodically go through the rules, even though the "let the inferences fly" way seems more error-prone.

So do you think it is dangerous to just let the inferences fly off you pencil, instead of taking each piece of info you have and applying it to each rule in your rule list?

ENTJ

Yep. I go through each indented rule methodically and piecemeal. Afterwards, you can step back and see how the rules interact with one another (because they always will) and see the relationship in a holistic way.

k the land surveryor

I do the same as Al. If I discover another inference when doing that I also write that into my list of the rules.

vandyzach

Thanks so much for the response, Al_D and K! If I could ask you one more follow-up question:

What would you think about combining these two methods? Like if I "let the inferences fly from my pencil" but then once I am done with that, going back to my rule list to make sure nothing else triggers? Do you think that would be advisable?

Sorry for delay in follow-up question. Work got incredibly crazy.