I could have danced all night...

Whew! I'm beat! I have half a mind just to crawl in bed, but I wanted to record some of this...

OK, formalities of the day, I packed all my stuff up, deconstructed Unicron, loaded up the car, and drove back here to school. Unpacked my stuff, reconstructed Unicron, had a bowl of soup. Drove up to BWI to pick but Beth H, took her home, headed out to Christendom.

It was about 7:30 or so, Gene was out at theatre practice, and things weren't supposed to start until 8:30. I sat in my car for a while and read some of the Guide to the Technocracy (It's a sourcebook for Mage). I went into the place a couple times to see if anyone was gathering for the dance group, but I didn't see anyone. At about 8:20 or so, I tried to check for a third time and found myself quite physically paralyzed by fear. No one believes me, but people scare me.

I managed to get out of the car and walk for a few minutes around campus, giving me time to gather the nerve to go inside. And sure enough, people were in there, including Suzannah, who said she was really glad I made it. *beams* She also started introducing me to everyone, including Greg, who I already knew because he's my brother's cool roommie (Stuart being the not-cool roomie). and it was all really cool, cause we did waltzes and contra dances and such and stuff... *smirk* I am such a dork. But it was fun, and she is pretty, and yeah, I'm gonna see if I can get out there again next Sunday... It'll get me exercise! And I'm not gonna say I'll take an excuse to see her, but...

Equally Equivalent

Doctor Doolan,

On my midterm exam, you made note in part E, where I was using the word "equal" when you asked for "equivalent," that equal does not mean the same as equivalent. However, according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus, they do. As proof, www.webster.com defines "equivalent" to be "equal in force, amount, or value," and "equal" to be "(1) : of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another (2) : identical in mathematical value or logical denotation : EQUIVALENT." It futher lists each as a synonym for the other. Now, in the section noted, I don't believe I missed points for the confusion, however, I did lose two points on number 10 in Section A for saying the propositions were considered logically "equal" where you were looking for "equivalent." Admittedly, the difference between a 93 and a 95 is a slim margin, still I would appreciate either an adjustment to the grade or a more sound explanation for the loss of points.

Thank you,
Andrew Portner

(no subject)

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That's a Bunch of Horseshit! Lando Calrissian Was a Black Guy!

Midterm Woes Continued...

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Andrew,

"Logically equivalent" is a term that we learnt from the text and in class; it is a term used by logicians to convey a precise meaning. What Section A of the exam was testing was whether you know and are conversant with that terminology. For that reason "equal" is not an acceptable answer, even if it were synonymous with "equivalent".

With that said, take a look again at the definition you quoted me. Do you think that the following two propositions are _identical_ in logical denotation?

No Republican is a Democrat.
No Democrat is a Republican.

The truth of one implies the truth of the other, but each asserts something different. The first proposition asserts something about Republicans, the latter about Democrats. I wouldn't call them equal (i.e., identical or the same).

-----
G. Doolan
School of Philosophy
The Catholic University of America

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Dr. Doolan,

It still seems to come down to a game of word play, and the fact that 'equal' and 'equivalent' are not only synonyms of each other but also that the same definition of 'equal' you wish to discredit uses the exact word 'equivalent' casts something of a shadow of doubt onto the issue. Additionally, 'No Republican is a Democrat' and 'No Democrat is a Republican' may have a slightly different sense to them, they still assert the same thing (namely, A and B are mutually exclusive), which I understand is precisely why they are logically equivalent.

Having stated this, and noting the assumption that we were to be tested on knowledge of the particular terminology, along with the fact that two points is all that's at stake, I concede the point. That is, it is conceivable that 'equal' and 'logically equivalent,' as a term rather than a notion, are not interchangeable.

-Andrew

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So, yeah, he's not backing down on it. Which I can almost respect, in as far as it's good to hold to one's possition. At the same time, if you're pattently wrong, admit it. I'm not worried about this course, I feel I have a good grasp of logic, and a 93 isn't a bad grade. I just don't appreciate the abuse of wordplay, especially bad wordplay.
-smirk-  Learnt isn't even a word...