Inference of the truth of an unknown result obtained by noting its similarity to a result already known to be true. In the hands of a skilled mathematician, analogy can be a very powerful tool for suggesting new and extending old results. However, subtleties can render results obtained by analogy incorrect, so rigorous proof is still needed.
Analogy
See also
Gauss's Formulas, Induction, Napier's AnalogiesExplore with Wolfram|Alpha
Cite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Analogy." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Analogy.html