[I really enjoyed RAW's lucid exposition on Maybe Logic. The exercizes would seem to work well for an Internet discussion, so here they are. -- Tom]
Classify the following propositions are true, false or maybe:
A. In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt became president of the United States.
B. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt became president of the United States.
C. On Jan. 18, 1932, Cary Grant had his 28th birthday.
D. The river Necker flows through the city of Frankfurt.
E. The river Necker flows through the city of Heidelberg.
F. Humanity evolved from Old World apes.
G. Force always equals mass multiplied by acceleration.
H. Francis Bacon wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare.
I. Sex education leads to an increase in sex crimes.
J. In the years in which sex education increased in the U.S., reported sex crimes also increased.
K. The census of 1890 showed 4,000,000 inhabitants of New York City.
L. An ordinary pack of cigarettes contains 20 cigarettes.
M. Ronald Reagan knew about the Iran-Contra guns-and-cocaine deals of North, Secord and Hull.
N. Ronald Reagan did not know about the Iran-Contra crimes until he heard the news on TV.
O. All the differences between men and women result from cultural training.
P. Sombunall of the differences between men and women result from cultural training.
Q. All differences between men and women result from genetic factors (testosterone, estrogen, etc.)
R. Sombunall of the differences between men and women result from genetic factors (testosterone, estrogen, etc.)
S. The lost continent of Atlantis exists under the sea near Bermuda.
T. The lost continent of Atlantis never existed.
U. Hitler had only one testicle.
9 comments:
A. Maybe, if by "became" you mean "was inaugurated."
B. Maybe, if by "became" you mean "was elected."
C. True.
D. False.
E. Maybe, if you spelled it "Neckar."
F. Maybe.
G. False.
H. Maybe.
I. Maybe.
J. Maybe.
K. False, the NYC population in 1890 was given as 1,515,301.
L. Maybe, if all the cigarettes are still in the pack.
M. Maybe.
N. Maybe.
O. False.
P. True.
Q. False.
R. True.
S. Maybe.
T. Maybe.
U. Maybe.
At this moment, I would say maybe to all of them.
Do we have a duality for this week?
A. True
B. False
C. True
D. Maybe
E. False
F. True
G. False
H. Maybe
I. Maybe
J. Maybe
K. False
L. Maybe
M. Maybe
N. Maybe
O. False
P. True
Q. False
R. True
S. False
T. True
U. False (rumour spread by british media)
@Eric, Do you want to suggest a new duality for Monday?
Here's my attempt to deal with the assertions:
A. True; that's the year FDR was inaugurated.
B. False; he was elected in 1932 but could not become president until actually taking office.
C. Maybe; when was "Cary Grant" (as opposed to Archibald Leach) born?
D. False; it's the "Neckar" and doesn't flow near Frankfurt.
E. Maybe; this isn't very precise, but the Neckar does flow BY Heidelberg, not sure it goes through it.
F. Maybe; evidence still coming in.
G. Maybe; perhaps the rule only applies to the universe we know.
H. Maybe; it seems to be something that can be argued about.
I. Maybe; it doesn't usually, but perhaps there is some scenario where that could happen.
J. Maybe. Assuming there are such statistics, perhaps reporting became more frequent, rather than more crimes actually taking place.
K. False; census showed about 2.5 million.
L. Maybe; I don't smoke and I don't know!
M. Maybe; who can know?
N. Maybe.
O. False. Surely there are at least anatomical differences.
P. True; this would seem to be correct across many cultures.
Q. False; seems very unlikely, anyway.
R. Maybe, although it seems likely to me.
S. Maybe, not much evidence either way.
T. Maybe, not much evidence either way.
U. False, although I can't provide an immediate citation, I believe this has been refuted fairly convincingly.
i would also say maybe to sumbunall of them. sorry im so late lately. ill be home with regular computer access soon.
Maybe to all of these. Calendars change, as do names, and rivers, and their courses. With a seeming infinite amount of possibilities, it seems difficult to give a definite 'true' or 'false' to any of these. And I don't know how to elaborate on the answers anymore than the Thoms and Andrew have already.
re-reading them, it seems there is a little ambihuity in all of them, and some require several assumptions, which I, evidently, made.
I may be getting solipsistic here, but I'm with the "all maybe" crowd.
Even historical facts such as the date of a president's inauguration require so many seemingly obvious assumptions so as to require them to be maybes.
Even the "far out" question of whether someone you see or read about being inaugurated as president would have to be verified somehow before you can accurately call it true.
i.e.--In Illuminatus! George Washington is said to have actually been Adam Weishaupt. So can we say "true" when asked if George Washington was the United States' first president? Even that appears to need a maybe tag.
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