[Avodah] logic

Lisa Liel via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Thu Nov 17 05:18:59 PST 2016


On 11/17/2016 1:11 PM, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
> R Michael Avraham (RMA) makes 2 similar points
...
> (2) Most things in the world are continuous rather than binary. Today 
> there is a field called fuzzy logic to study this.
>
> RMA's favorite example is to define a heap.
> (A) one object is not a heap
> (B) adding an object to a heap can't change it to a heap

The examples you give only exists as artifacts of vague language. Bald 
isn't rigorously defined.  If it were, we'd be back to excluded middle.  
If we define bald as meaning no hair whatsoever, adding a single hair 
*does* change someone from bald to not bald.  If we define bald as 
meaning fewer than 10 hairs, again, adding or subtracting a hair can 
only change the person from bald to not-bald or vice versa at the 
boundary.  Because there /is/ a boundary.

A heap is not rigorously defined.  Nor is a crumb.  Half a crumb is a 
crumb.  The only things that aren't binary in the sense you seem to be 
using the word are linguistic constructs.  Real things have attributes 
that can be defined rigorously.  Vague language does not equal the thing 
being described.

Lisa



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