Fact, Inference, Judgement

Ankur Jain
The Facts of the Case
 Facts – Deal with pieces of information that
one has heard, seen or read, and which are
open to discovery or verification
 Inferences – Conclusions drawn about the
unknown, on the basis of the known
 Judgments – Opinions that imply approval
or disapproval of persons, objects, situations
and occurrences in the past, the present or
the future
A bit of spadework!
 A fact is a statement that can be proven true
(or false) with some objective standard
 The biology students are in Science Lab 3A.
 This is a “provable” statement. It can be determined
that there are people, who study biology, who are in a
room that has scientific lab equipment for scientific
laboratory work. The room number (3A or otherwise)
can also be proven.
Let’s dig a bit more
 Inferring is the act of passing from one
proposition, statement, or judgment
considered as true to another whose
truth is believed to follow from that of
the former.
Let’s dig a bit more, contd…
 An inference is a statement that appears to be true based on
previous experiences. The greater the body of experience, the
more an inference appears to be a fact.
 The Biology class meets in Science Lab 3A.
 This is probably true in most cases—the class is scheduled to
meet in that room, and class is likely held there. There may also
be occasions when the class is held outdoors or at another
location.
 The school day begins at 8:00 a.m.
 This inference seems to be a fact, but it is certainly possible that
bad weather that could cause school to begin later. This is much
like the above statement.
 The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
 This certainly seems to be a fact. No one anticipates that the
rotation of the earth will change drastically overnight, but
because it is written in a tense that implies both present
conditions as well as future conditions, it could also be
considered an inference.
Let’s hit pay-dirt!
 An opinion is a statement that a person believes to
be true but it cannot be measured against an
objective standard
 Science Lab 3A is too small for the biology class.
 Science Lab 3A is well equipped for biology classes.
 The first statement is dependent on a number of
factors, and may even enlist agreement from many
different sources, but there is no “standard” for the
appropriate size of a science lab.
 The second statement is dependent on what the
biology class does in the lab. Their work may be
limited by the equipment, but because they have
the materials they need for their work, someone
might mistakenly believe the lab has sufficient
equipment and materials.
All this is theory, a few
CAT level samplers if you
don’t mind!

Sure, I don’t!
Some “Facts” from CAT 2006
 The government has been supplying free drugs
since 2004, and 35000 have benefited up to now –
though the size of the affected population is 150
times this number.
 Only about 13 million children in the age group of 6
to 14 years are out of school.
 The truth is that we have more red tape - we take
eighty-nine days to start a small business,
Australians take two.
 The economies of the industrialized western world
derive 20% of their income from the sale of all kinds
of arms.

Seems Easy Enough!

Some “Inferences” from CAT2006
 The recent initiatives of networks and companies
like AIDSCare Network, Emcure, Reliance-Cipla-
CII, would lead to availability of much-needed drugs
to a larger number of affected people.
 According to all statistical indications, the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan has managed to keep pace with
its ambitious goals.
 Every red tape procedure is a point of contact with
an official, and such contacts have the potential to
become opportunities for money to change hands.
 Even without war, we know that conflicts continue
to trouble us - they only change in character.

Err! I am not too sure!

Some “Judgments” from CAT2006
 So much of our day-to-day focus seems to be on
getting things done, trudging our way through the
tasks of living - it can feel like a treadmill that gets
you nowhere; where is the childlike joy?
 We are not doing the things that make us happy;
that which brings us joy; the things that we cannot
wait to do because we enjoy them so much.
 This is the stuff that joyful living is made of -
identifying your calling and committing yourself
wholeheartedly to it.
 When this happens, each moment becomes a
celebration of you; there is a rush of energy that
comes with feeling completely immersed in doing
what you love most.`
More “Judgments” from CAT2006
 Given the poor quality of service in the public
sector, the HIV/AIDS affected should be switching
to private initiatives that supply anti-retroviral drugs
(ARVs) at a low cost.
 But how ironic it is that we should face a perennial
shortage of drugs when India is one of the world‘s
largest suppliers of generic drugs to the developing
world.
 The Mid-day Meal Scheme has been a significant
incentive for the poor to send their little ones to
school thus establishing the vital link between
healthy bodies and healthy minds.
 The goal of universalisation of elementary
education has to be a pre-requisite for the evolution
and development of our country.
 More “Judgments” from CAT2006
 We should not be hopelessly addicted to an
erroneous belief that corruption in India is caused
by the crookedness of Indians.
 Red tape leads to corruption and distorts a people‘s
character.
 Inequitable distribution of all kinds of resources is
certainly one of the strongest and most sinister
sources of conflict.
 Extensive disarmament is the only insurance for our
future; imagine the amount of resources that can be
released and redeployed.

Ouch, Where did these come from!?

Is there a method to this
madness?
Let’s explore !
Inferences of CAT2006 - Revisited
 The recent initiatives of networks and companies
like AIDSCare Network, Emcure, Reliance-Cipla-
CII, would lead to availability of much-needed
drugs to a larger number of affected people.
 According to all statistical indications, the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan has managed to keep pace with
its ambitious goals.
 Every red tape procedure is a point of contact with
an official, and such contacts have the potential to
become opportunities for money to change hands.
 Even without war, we know that conflicts continue
to trouble us - they only change in character.
 Rhetorical Question

Judgments - CAT2006 - Revisited

 So much of our day-to-day focus seems to be on
getting things done, trudging our way through the
tasks of living - it can feel like a treadmill that gets
you nowhere; where is the childlike joy?
 We are not doing the things that make us happy;
that which brings us joy; the things that we cannot
wait to do because we enjoy them so much.
 This is the stuff that joyful living is made of -
identifying your calling and committing yourself
wholeheartedly to it.
 When this happens, each moment becomes a
celebration of you; there is a rush of energy that
comes with feeling completely immersed in doing
what you love most.`
More “Judgments” from CAT2006
 Given the poor quality of service in the public
sector, the HIV/AIDS affected should be switching
to private initiatives that supply anti-retroviral drugs
(ARVs) at a low cost.
 But how ironic it is that we should face a perennial
shortage of drugs when India is one of the world‘s
largest suppliers of generic drugs to the developing
world.
 The Mid-day Meal Scheme has been a significant
incentive for the poor to send their little ones to
school thus establishing the vital link between
healthy bodies and healthy minds.
 The goal of universalisation of elementary
education has to be a pre-requisite for the evolution
and development of our country.
More “Judgments” from CAT2006
 We should not be hopelessly addicted to an
erroneous belief that corruption in India is caused
by the crookedness of Indians.
 Red tape leads to corruption and distorts a people‘s
character.
 Inequitable distribution of all kinds of resources is
certainly one of the strongest and most sinister
sources of conflict.
 Extensive disarmament is the only insurance for our
future; imagine the amount of resources that can be
released and redeployed.

Does this make sense?

I certainly hope so!

Let us move to the

handout VAHO831