posted by [identity profile] dglenn.livejournal.com at 05:15pm on 2005-03-15
I interpreted #2 and #6 as meaning "which of these must be true", not a claim that either set of answers was exhaustive.
 
posted by [identity profile] redaxe.livejournal.com at 06:27pm on 2005-03-15
But the fact is that, in the real world, those are not certainties, as the discussion of alternative possibilities in baseball demonstrates.

Just because a thing is logical doesn't imply it's right, correct, or accurate.
 
posted by [identity profile] dglenn.livejournal.com at 04:55am on 2005-03-16
*nod* It was a test of logic, which is one extremely useful tool in making real-world decisions, not a general test of real-world decisionmaking. I'd say you've pointed out a limit of the problem-domain of the test, not a flaw in the test. (But it is an important limitation, yes.)

And while logic isn't the be-all and end-all of intelligent thought, in general IF the initial data are correct, then the logical conclusions one can draw from those data are usually the right way to bet.

More importantly, logic is really useful for detecting blatant bullshit, rhetoric that attempts to distract or deceive, and a lot of mistakes. So I'm not claiming that Logic Is Everything, only that formal logic is extremely useful.

Links

January

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24
 
25
 
26
 
27
 
28
 
29
 
30
 
31