H.A.-USM on Lowest Tier - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Aug 22, 2005

RE: H.A.-USM on Lowest Tier

Date: Aug 22, 2005

Wizard,my friend,too much time in the lab for you. If you don't know "(1 " is true.you can't know that "(2" is false . What is "knowing someone" ,how does it differ from "relationships" Please quanitate. What is the meaning of "is."

Date: Aug 22, 2005

Philosopher wrote:

What is the meaning of "is."

Spelling bee contestants are allowed to hear the word used in a sentence. I will use the word "is" in a sentence for you. Some might recall the song entitled "Is you is or is you ain't my baby?" I hope that explanation will suffice.

Date: Aug 22, 2005

Philosopher wrote:

Wizard,my friend,too much time in the lab for you. If you don't know "(1 " is true.you can't know that "(2" is false . What is "knowing someone" ,how does it differ from "relationships" Please quanitate. What is the meaning of "is."

Philosopher,

By “he” we mean the poster. Otherwise I suppose neither (1) nor (2) is a statement. So we agree that (1) is either true or false and that (2) is either true or false. It appears that we can assign any truth-values to (1) and (2) without any logical contradiction. Poster may have lived in Hattiesburg for at least 40 years but may have had relationships with fewer than 100 students, faculty, or administrators. There’s no contradiction here. Or poster many have lived here for 40+ years and enjoyed solid friendships with thousands of USM students, faculty, and administrators. Or maybe poster has never been to Hattiesburg. Poster may still have known very few or very many hundreds USM folks. I don’t see a contradiction here either.

Also, it’s a small point, but I did not claim that (2) is false, though I’m convinced it is.

I’m sure there are people you call "friends" and people you call "family". You have relationships with these people. And perhaps there are people whom you know well but are neither friends nor family. Maybe some coworkers fall into this category. You might still claim to have relationships with these people. I think it’s possible to have a good “working relationship” with people you don’t otherwise spend time with.

Then there are people you’ve met but don’t really know. “Friends of friends” comes to mind. You don't spend a lot of time with these people. You probably don’t know their educational backgrounds or where they are from, but with some reflection you may be able to recall their names. In a sense, you "know" them, but not well. I doubt that I can recall the names of many hundreds of people, so I wouldn’t claim that I have many hundreds of acquaintances, much less many hundreds of relationships. But then again, I don’t get around much anymore.

Can someone teach me to “quanitate”? Does it have anything to do with interns?