So I was thinking about stuff. More specifically, about having stuff.
Here it goes.
Ok, lets say you have 5 apples, like the ones below.
o- o- o- o- o-
Saying you have 5 apples also means that if someone were to ask if you had 3 apples you could tell them yes.
o- o- o- o- o-
^Three apples. Also two more
But you could not say that you have 6 apples, because you do not have 6 apples.
Therefore, if Santa is bringing you 10 toy trucks for Christmas, he is also bringing you 2 toy trucks.
The opposite is not necessarily true. Just because Santa is bringing you 2 toy trucks for Christmas does not say anything about the possibility of him bringing you 10, or even 3, toy trucks. But he is definately bringing you one toy truck.
From the apple example, if you were to ask someone if they have 5 apples, and they truthfully say yes, then you can assume at least two things. (1.) That person has 2 apples; they also have 1, 3, 4, and 5 apples. (2.) You cannot say anything about the number of apples above that number that they said they have.
-Not having stuff is a little different than having stuff.
Lets say you need 5 apples for an apple pie recipe and you do not have 5 apples.
That would be like saying that you have -5 apples.
But what if you have 3 apples for that recipe. Well...you still dont have 5 apples, nothing changes there.
But because all you need is 2 apples for the recipe, so you could say that you have -2 apples.
Saying that you have -2 apples also means that you have have -5 apples. This is because if you dont have 2 apples, then you dont have 5 apples, or 10 apples for that matter. But you cant be sure of the opposite. Saying that you have -5 apples does not mean that you have -3 apples. (Saying that you do not have 5 apples does not mean that you do not have 3 apples.)
Its the same thing for being $10 in debt. Just because you do not have $10, does not mean that you do not have $8. But if you do not have $10, then you do not have $15.
If you were to ask someong if they had $10, and they truthfully said that they did not, then two things could be assumed. (1.) That person does not have any amount above the number they said they did not have, whether it be $20, $100, or any amount above or in between. (2.) You cannot say anthing about the amount they have below the number you asked for; they could have $8, $3, any amount inbetween 0 and the amount you asked if they had, or nothing at all.
True enough; not having things is asymmetrical with having them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if I were trying to avoid loaning you my $10, I could truthfully (if deceptively) say that I do not have $10, by which I mean that I actually have $20. In that case, my statement that I do not have ten dollars tells you nothing at all about what I may or may not have.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR WORD VERIFICATION FUNCTION!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Professor Silliman on this one and I can speak from experience. If I have $10 and somebody asks to borrow it, then I can say I do not have $10 simply because I have more than that. I would say something like that in a situation where I thought the person whom I would be lending to can not be relied on to pay me back.
ReplyDeleteThinks just makes me think, what can you use this for? Please let me know because i can see how this all works and makes sense, but what's the point?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can say that this would be useful for is to fully understand why we name quantities the way we do - because its the best way logically to do so.
ReplyDeleteIf you own a new car, lets say its worth $20,000, you wouldn't say that your car is worth $10,000, unless youre lying to cheat uncle sam or something. But if you said that you paid $10,000, then youd be lying. It would also be untrue to say that your car is worth $30,000. So it only makes sense to name the maximum amount that you have.
In the same respect, you wouldn't say that (if you needed 3 cups of flour that you didnt have for a recipe) that you didn't have 8 cups of flour. Even though thats completely true, it just wouldn't make sense because of the amount you need. It only makes sense to name the lowest amount that you dont have.