When Elimination Works

Despite its limits, eliminative reasoning is genuinely useful when applied carefully. Medical diagnosis uses it constantly: rule out the most dangerous conditions first.

The key is knowing the domain boundaries. A mechanic troubleshooting an engine can work from a constrained list of components that commonly fail. A doctor diagnosing chest pain starts with the most dangerous and likely causes, while still leaving room for rare or unfamiliar ones. In bounded domains, elimination is powerful. In open or creative domains, it is unreliable.