User talk:Weszup
Generalization is an argumentative strategy used in inductive reasoning that relies on the assumption that an appropriately selected sample has the same attributes of the population from which it is selected [1]. The generalization's validity is determined by the sample. The sample has to be representative of the population, sufficient in number and homogeneous as possible. Deficiencies in any one of these requirements may lead to a logical fallacy.
For example:
Rats have large front teeth. Rats is a sample of the group, rodents. Therefore rodents have large front teeth.
Hasty Generalizations[edit]
A hasty generalization results when the sample selected is not sufficient in number to warrant a valid conclusion on the attributes of the population[2].
For example:
The three blonds in my school are stupid, therefore all blonds are stupid.
This generalization is hasty as the intelligence of the two or three blonds in my school is not enough to represent the millions of blonds (larger population) in the world.