Im having hard time differentiating b/w inductive and deductive reasoning. In inductive you find patterns, then you reach conclusion, in deductive you reach conclusion based on previous known facts, but i still not quite understand. I also not get the top-down, bottom-up.
Inductive reasoning is the process of coming up with a conclusion based on a series of events that repeat. An example would be to push a light switch up turns on the light and pushing it down turns the light off. If you do this over and over, say 1000 times, you could conclude that the light goes on when the switch is up and it is off when the switch is down. Unfortunately, the conclusion may not always be true because other circumstances may cause the light to not go on when the switch is up. The light may burn out, the electricity goes off, etc.
Now, deductive reasoning is the process of coming up with a conclusion based on facts that have already been shown to be true. Hence, your conclusion will always be true. The facts that can be used to prove your conclusion deductively may come from accepted definitions, postulates or axioms, or previously proved theorems. If you are taking geometry, proofs requires deductive reasoning. Therefore, it is imperative that you know your definitions, postulates and theorems.
Note: Intuition is another way to come up with a conclusion. That process depends upon a feeling that something is true.
Does that help?