2008.04.22
Plum Jelly Bellies
A Lesson in Logic
Expected Result:
1. I like plums. (True; Memory)
2. If I like plums, I will also like plum-flavored jelly bellies. (Assumption)
3. Therefore, I like plum-flavored jelly bellies. (1, 2, Modus Ponens)
About $0.75 of bulk plum jelly bellies later...
Actual Result:
1. I like plums. (True; Memory)
2. I do not like plum-flavored jelly bellies. (True; Observation)
3. Therefore, it is not the case that if I like plums, I will also like plum-flavored jelly bellies. (1, 2, Modus Tollens)
Now I just have to separate the plum jelly bellies from the grape, lemon drop, and orange sherbet ones.
Posted by Luke at 2:48 p.m.
Save them for me! And thanks for the encouragement.
Posted by Tracy on 2008.04.23 at 7:31 p.m.
I always suspected that you could detect an empiricist by the little piles of Jelly Bellies they leave behind.
Posted by Phillip Barnhart on 2008.04.24 at 7:03 a.m.
Post a Comment