Abduction is a method of logical inference introduced by Charles Sanders Peirce which comes prior to induction and deduction for which the colloquial name is to have a "hunch". Abductive reasoning starts when an inquirer considers of a set of seemingly unrelated facts, armed with an intuition that they are somehow connected. The term abduction is commonly presumed to mean the same thing as hypothesis; however, an abduction is actually the process of inference that produces a hypothesis as its end resultSebeok, T. (1981) "You Know My Method." In Sebeok, T. "The Play of Musement." Bloomington, IA: Indiana. pp 33-34. It is used in both philosophy and computing.

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