What is Deductive Reasoning?
Logic Ladder relies on deductive reasoning. This is a "top-down" approach to thinking where you start with general statements (premises) to reach a specific, logical conclusion. If the premises are true and the structure is valid, the conclusion must be true.
The Syllogism
The basic unit of our game is the syllogism. A standard syllogism consists of three parts:
- Major Premise: All humans are mortal.
- Minor Premise: Socrates is a human.
- Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
The Bridge (The Middle Term)
To connect two cards in Logic Ladder, they must share a common word. In formal logic, this is called the Middle Term.
Example
Premise 1: All Widgets are Doodads.
Premise 2: No Gadgets are Widgets.
Here, "Widgets" is the bridge. It appears in both premises but disappears in the conclusion. It effectively glues "Gadgets" and "Doodads" together to form the result: No Gadgets are Doodads.
Lewis Carroll's Logic
Logic Ladder is based on a specific type of puzzle called a Sorites (pronounced so-ri-teez). This is essentially a stack of syllogisms piled on top of each other.
Instead of just A + B = C, a Sorites puzzle asks you to solve A + B + C + D + E = F. You must chain the premises together, step-by-step, eliminating middle terms until only the starting subject and the final predicate remain.