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So, what's he smiling for, all smug like? Jamie wondered.

He said he's goin' to mess with our minds tonight, Davey

replied, but I'll tell you, he's not gonna fool me. I'm pretty

much onto his tricks by now.

The subject tonight is logic, Alex began, and as usual I'll

keep it nice and simple so you all can understand. That

caught Ian's attention, and now the three of them were

ready to take another challenge. Morty's was never so

lively as when the boys squared off in a battle of wits.

Tell me something that's true, Alex began, true today, true

tomorrow, true here, true down the street, true without

regard for time and place in any way. Davey scratched

his beard, as he often did, to give the appearance of deep

thought. But Jamie chimed in first. Well, take that stool

yer sittin' on, he said, it's got four legs. Four today, four

tomorrow, four where ever you take it. The number of

legs on that stool is four. There's a true statement for you.

Excellent! cried Alex. Now let's talk a little bit about contradictions.

How would you say just the opposite of that? What statement

could you make that absolutely can't be true if that statement

is true? Can ya answer me that? Ian was all over this one.

C'mon, give us a challenge will ya? It's simple! A statement

that can't be true is just the opposite of what Jamie said.

The number of legs on that stool is NOT four.

You lads bring tears to me eyes, ye really do, continued Alex,

you're exactly right. There's no way those two statements

can ever both be true - no place, and no time. One has got to

be true, and the other has got to be false.

By this time Davey was wondering why he had bothered to

scratch his beard. Ya know, so far I'd have to say I'm not really

overwhelmed with the depth of this discussion. Have ya got

something for us, or not? And he looked wistfully across the

room at the dartboard.

I was just getting to it, Alex said. It's this: I'll put up a pound

against a month of drinks and tell you that I have a statement

that's true, just like Jamey's, any time, any place. But it's different.

Cuz when you make the contradictory statement like Ian-boy here

did, well, that statement is just as true as the first!

Now here's the challenge. You can take my bet, and end up buying

my cold ones for a month, or ... you can come up with a true statement

of your own, whose contradiction is every bit as true, and I'll do the

buyin'.

The beard scratching resumed - now in earnest. And Davey suggested

quietly that a sporting man just might drop a tiny clue. Alex smiled,

compassionately, and said, OK then, the statement goes like this. The

number .......... is nine. And the contradiction goes like this: The number

.......... is NOT nine. And the part where the dots are is exactly the same

in both statements. For you Yankee fans, it's not about spring training.... ;)

Davey slumped down into his chair, motionless. Ian quietly moved

back to the bar. Jamie closed his eyes for a moment and thought.

Yes, he said, I think I have it!

What was Jamie's idea?

Would you have taken the bet?

----------

"Use the spoiler, Luke."

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How about:

1. The number six is nine.

The number six is NOT nine.

Well, the number 6 is 9, if seen upside down, but of course it isn't 9 in arithmetic.

Or,

2. The number obtained by 0/0 is nine.

The number obtained by 0/0 is NOT nine.

0/0 is an awesome quantity, it takes you out of so many difficult situations!

Or,

3. The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is nine.

The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is NOT nine.

I mean, pose this question for any indeterminate value (apart from option 1 that is), and its done! Am I missing something Bonanova?

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Almost any statement of truth has qualifications. You removed qualifications of time and place, but not ...

... numbering system.

The number 1001 is nine. = true in binary, false in decimal.

Incidentally, I wouldn't agree that the statement "the stool has four legs" is true anytime, if in a different time the stool doesn't exist.

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How about:

1. The number six is nine.

The number six is NOT nine.

Well, the number 6 is 9, if seen upside down, but of course it isn't 9 in arithmetic.

Or,

2. The number obtained by 0/0 is nine.

The number obtained by 0/0 is NOT nine.

0/0 is an awesome quantity, it takes you out of so many difficult situations!

Or,

3. The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is nine.

The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is NOT nine.

I mean, pose this question for any indeterminate value (apart from option 1 that is), and its done! Am I missing something Bonanova?

The statement "[indeterminate value] = [determinate value] is either false or undetermined, but certainly not true.

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... I wouldn't agree that the statement "the stool has four legs" is true anytime, if in a different time the stool doesn't exist.

Hi Duh Puck,

I mentioned your objection to Alex this morning.

Always the mind messer [well, mess isn't precisely the appropriate word] he said,

A stool that doesn't exist isn't built like an airplane just cuz it doesn't exist.

I think he was trying to suggest that a nonexistent stool could have four

nonexistent legs. And then he walked away, kind of muttering to himself.

Hope that helps.

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How about:

1. The number six is nine.

The number six is NOT nine.

Well, the number 6 is 9, if seen upside down, but of course it isn't 9 in arithmetic.

Or,

2. The number obtained by 0/0 is nine.

The number obtained by 0/0 is NOT nine.

0/0 is an awesome quantity, it takes you out of so many difficult situations!

Or,

3. The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is nine.

The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is NOT nine.

I mean, pose this question for any indeterminate value (apart from option 1 that is), and its done! Am I missing something Bonanova?

I think Alex indicated "If one is absolutely true then the other is also absolutely true"....so your solutions do not have a strong ground

Edited by storm
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How about:

1. The number six is nine.

The number six is NOT nine.

Well, the number 6 is 9, if seen upside down, but of course it isn't 9 in arithmetic.

Or,

2. The number obtained by 0/0 is nine.

The number obtained by 0/0 is NOT nine.

0/0 is an awesome quantity, it takes you out of so many difficult situations!

Or,

3. The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is nine.

The number of nine Schrödinger's cat alive in a box is NOT nine.

I mean, pose this question for any indeterminate value (apart from option 1 that is), and its done! Am I missing something Bonanova?

Kudos for traveling out of the box. ;)

But the suggested statements violate the condition of being

as true as "The number of legs on that stool is four" is. -_-

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Kudos for traveling out of the box. ;)

But the suggested statements violate the condition of being

as true as "The number of legs on that stool is four" is. -_-

Hmmm .. perhaps true for the statements 2 and their corollaries, ie. indeterminate = determinate .. but what about 6 = 9 .. its the point of view statement, i mean 6 is 9 if seen upside down, just as much as the stool has four legs :) ..

Is your straight and contradictory statement independent of the point of view? Could you see my point of view in tht statement? :blink:

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