Generalization

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For other uses, see Generalization (disambiguation).

Look up generalization in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A generalization is a form of

deductive inferences (particularly in logic, mathematics and science), where the process of verification
is necessary to determine whether a generalization holds true for any given situation.

Generalization can also be used to refer to the process of identifying the parts of a whole, as belonging to the whole. The parts, which might be unrelated when left on their own, may be brought together as a group, hence belonging to the whole by establishing a common relation between them.

However, the parts cannot be generalized into a whole—until a common relation is established among all parts. This does not mean that the parts are unrelated, only that no common relation has been established yet for the generalization.

The concept of generalization has broad application in many connected disciplines, and might sometimes have a more specific meaning in a specialized context (e.g. generalization in psychology, generalization in learning).[1]

In general, given two related concepts A and B, A is a "generalization" of B (equiv., B is a special case of A) if and only if both of the following hold:

  • Every instance of concept B is also an instance of concept A.
  • There are instances of concept A which are not instances of concept B.

For example, the concept animal is a generalization of the concept bird, since every bird is an animal, but not all animals are birds (dogs, for instance). For more, see

Specialisation (biology)
.

Hypernym and hyponym

See also: Semantic change

The connection of generalization to specialization (or

generic stands for a class or group of equally ranked items, such as the term tree which stands for equally ranked items such as peach and oak, and the term ship which stands for equally ranked items such as cruiser and steamer. In contrast, a hyponym is one of the items included in the generic, such as peach and oak which are included in tree, and cruiser and steamer which are included in ship. A hypernym is superordinate to a hyponym, and a hyponym is subordinate to a hypernym.[2]

Examples

Biological generalization

Diagram
When the mind makes a generalization, it extracts the essence of a concept based on its analysis of similarities from many discrete objects. The resulting simplification enables higher-level thinking.

An animal is a generalization of a mammal, a bird, a fish, an amphibian and a reptile.

Cartographic generalization of geo-spatial data

Main article: Cartographic generalization

Generalization has a long history in

geospatial information within their representation of the world.[3]

Generalization is meant to be context-specific. That is to say, correctly generalized maps are those that emphasize the most important map elements, while still representing the world in the most faithful and recognizable way. The level of detail and importance in what is remaining on the map must outweigh the insignificance of items that were generalized—so as to preserve the distinguishing characteristics of what makes the map useful and important.

Mathematical generalizations

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Generalization.

References

  1. ^ a b "Definition of generalization | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  2. ^ Nordquist, Richard. "Definition and Examples of Hypernyms in English". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Scale and Generalization". Axis Maps. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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