Tag: equality

When we try to qualify absolutes

Last week I wrote about how confusing things can get if we start trying to get around a mathematical symbol like “=”.  One commenter specifically pointed out that whether we follow the illogic of the original problem (you know, as in 2-6) or whether we use the mathematically valid workaround of function notation, with a little creativity the answer can be absolutely anything.

The same applies to language.

Think about the word, “equal”.  It’s one we enjoy throwing around these days.  Equality is very much in vogue.  Everyone is claiming equality to everyone else on whatever criteria they can come up with.

And that’s very well and good, except that it’s not true.

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