Many happy returns of the day, MM!
I think, on 15 the "we can predict" clause makes it hinkier. That should have been left out.
Fire bad. Tree pretty.
Buffy ,'Chosen'
Natter 62: The 62nd Natter
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
DebetEsse - Jan 07, 2009 3:26:36 am PST #9675 of 10002
Woe to the fucking wicked.
amych - Jan 07, 2009 3:44:34 am PST #9676 of 10002
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
Contra Debet, the "we can predict" clause can't be left out, because that's exactly the point of the thing -- the logical statement isn't about whether water is or isn't H2O, but about whether the preceding statements imply anything about what is or isn't *predictable*. It isn't hedge-language at all.
DebetEsse - Jan 07, 2009 3:50:24 am PST #9677 of 10002
Woe to the fucking wicked.
Amych, would "we should be able to predict" work as well for you? Because that works better for me.
Jessica - Jan 07, 2009 3:50:34 am PST #9678 of 10002
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
I really don't like 15. It's sneaky. (Billytea's reasoning makes much more sense to me than the one given by the quiz.)
Jessica - Jan 07, 2009 3:52:19 am PST #9679 of 10002
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
Okay, but if the hypothetical future observation of "water" reveals a different chemical composition, then it's not water (as per premise #1), and doesn't apply to the problem.
amych - Jan 07, 2009 3:56:09 am PST #9680 of 10002
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
Debet, nope. "should" and "can" are totally different statements here -- the question is asking for absolute confidence, but common sense and normal English want us to read it as something more like your "should" construction, which incidentally I totally agree with in the real world. Logic gets weird sometimes. But it's absolutely a sneaky question -- Jess is right.
Laura - Jan 07, 2009 4:14:55 am PST #9681 of 10002
Our wings are not tired.
Well, I don't feel so bad getting #15 wrong now. I got the rest right.
Trudy Booth - Jan 07, 2009 4:40:03 am PST #9682 of 10002
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
Israel says it's willing to discuss with Hamas on the base of the Egyptian truce suggestion!
Well who's going to top THAT for Joe's birthday?
::tacklehugs Miracleman::
Miracleman - Jan 07, 2009 4:49:11 am PST #9683 of 10002
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020
Israel says it's willing to discuss with Hamas on the base of the Egyptian truce suggestion!
I feel bad, though, because I didn't get Israel anything for its birthday. Mental note: Send Israel nice fruit basket.
Dude... so that's why he hasn't been working on that transporter.
He's been brokering world peace. Or else slipping roofies into the drinks of high ranking officials.
You say these things as though they are not one and the same.
Jessica - Jan 07, 2009 5:03:18 am PST #9684 of 10002
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
Happy birthday, MM!
In your honor, I present this Overheard in NY exchange, which I swear I do not identify with at all. Really.