You can follow up on a question in many ways. You might look up the answer online or in a book. You might make your own observations to answer the question. You can also use inference to explore questions where the answer can not be directly observed. When we infer, we make predictions, “if this explanation were true, what would I expect to see” and then observe if those predictions pan out as you explore. The process of inference is widely misunderstood and misused, but if you understand this tool, it is a powerful tool in the nature Journaler’s tool kit enabling us to get closer to correct explanations step-by-step.
