Idioms and types of determination

The SERENE idioms embody different types of determination discussed above:

1. Statistical and analogical determination is modelled by the induction idiom. Here aggregates of repeated instances of homogenous events are used to predict the likely behaviour of a new event. The extent to which this can be done successfully depends on the degree of the similarity between the events ;

2. Causal reasoning is modelled by the process-product and measurement idioms. In the process/product idiom our reasoning connects causes (processes) to consequences (the product of those causes). The measurement idiom relies on the concomitant interaction of the measurement instrument and the artefact under observation to produce an estimate (the consequence);

3. Deterministic reasoning is modelled by the synthesis/definitional idiom. Here definitions of things are modelled by deterministic functions. Also different variables may be combined in some way for practical purposes (synthesis), where the combination rule is completely certain.