Process of elimination

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Process of elimination is a

educational testing
, it is a process of deleting options whereby the possibility of an option being correct is close to zero or significantly lower compared to other options. This version of the process does not guarantee success, even if only one option remains, since it eliminates possibilities merely as improbable. The process of elimination can only narrow the possibilities down, and thus, if the correct option is not amongst the known options, it will not arrive at the truth.

Method

The method of elimination is

binary search
.

In order for the method to work it is necessary to list all possible, even improbable, possibilities. Any omissions render the method invalid as a logical method.

Medicine

A process of elimination can be used to reach a diagnosis of exclusion. It is an underlying method in performing a differential diagnosis.

See also

References

  • Richard L. Burden, J. Douglas Faires (2000). Numerical Analysis, 7th ed. Brooks/Cole. .