*Some of these glossary definitions have been adapted and reproduced by permission of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Many computer and Web-related definitions have been contributed by Jason Snart, College of DuPage.

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identify To ascertain the origin, nature, or definitive characteristics of.

illumination Spiritual or intellectual enlightenment; clarification; elucidation

incomplete comparison A focus on too few points of comparison.

independent thinkers Persons who are not afraid to disagree with the group opinion. They develop well-supported beliefs through thoughtful analysis, instead of uncriticallyborrowing the beliefs of others.

inductive reasoning An argument form in which one reasons from premises that are known or assumed to be true to a conclusion that is supported by the premises but does not necessarily follow from them.

infer To conclude from evidence or premises.

inference The act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true. OR The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.

inferential beliefs Beliefs that are based on inferences, that go beyond what can be directly observed.

inferring Going beyond factual information to describe what is not known.

informed Well acquainted with knowledge of a subject. OR The product of a great deal of thought and reflection.

insightful Displaying an incisive understanding of a complex event.

interactive Acting or capable of acting on each other.

internal constraints Limits to one’s freedom that come from within oneself.

Internet An interconnected system of networks that connects computers around the world via the TCP/IP protocol.

Internet service provider (ISP) A company, such as America Online, that provides its subscribers with access to the Internet. Also sometimes referred to as Internet access providers.

interpret To explain the meaning of; to conceive the significance of; construe.

interpretation The result of conceiving or explaining the meaning of.

intuition A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

invalid argument An argument in which the reasons do not support the conclusion so that the conclusion does not follow from the reasons offered.