Reasoning by Analogy. It is a very powerful tool. It has created
companies like Toys R' Us and Staples by their analogizing
properly to Supermarkets, and destroyed companies like Enron who
analogized to energy markets without realizing that their
analogies were superficial in nature and that there were deep
disconnects between them. We use analogies all of the time;
ultimately, it's likely the very way we learn anything. But as
much as we learn things correctly, we also learn things
incorrectly.
Trial and error is useful in novel situations but few situations
are truly novel: there's usually an analogy available. Deduction
is very useful but typically restricted to simpler problems with
simpler answers that are straight forward. Of course there are
other methods as well, but analogies are one of the most
all-purpose. But the danger of superficial analogizing always
looms and must be avoided. Here's a basic guide to analogical
reasoning for problem solving.[1]reasoning-by-analogy
References
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1.
http://icopiedyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/reasoning-by-analogy.gif
