27 March 2016

Notes - Sat and Sun


26 March 2016

            I found these interesting questions/responses on Quora this morning.

** **

What is free logic, and how does it differ from classical logic?

Quinn Russell, specialized in logic and language in philosophy

118 Views • Quinn is a Most Viewed Writer in Logic (philosophy).

John Bailey's description is correct and a consequence of the main difference. Free logic does not assume existential import. In predicate calculus, the existential quantifier some means at least one and generally assumes existence in a domain. Unicorns can be discussed as existent in a fictional domain where unicorns exist. But free logic removes the existential import on the quantifier, which also allegedly frees it from the constraints of the domain in which it is said to exist.

Note that this difference mostly applies to specific variables, not universally generalized ones (as classically distinguished by the syllogistic square). There has been debate over the centuries whether universal variables assume existential import. In other words, can the set of “all unicorns” be empty? If yes, which has been the dominant view, and we interpret “all unicorns have horns” as “if it is a unicorn, it has horns”, then the sentence is trivially true because its antecedent is false because unicorns don’t exist. Requiring universal terms to be existential as well might be overly restrictive, however, leading to a Platonic-like metaphysical realism about universals. When proposing natural laws, for example, we would like to propose laws for potential or possible natural states, states which might not yet actually exist but are predicted by the natural law.

It’s also worth noting that a modern propositional logic, which is not quantified, and its variables can be interpreted as always universal, is a sort of free logic because it does not require existential import. It could be said that one aim of free logic is to free logic from its metaphysical commitments so it can be applied to any ontology. Aside from the metaphysical question about whether universals, particulars, or both actually exist, or in what manner or mode they exist, free logics decouple truth from existence. This is particularly useful for some notions of truth in which truth is interpreted as coherence, persistence, consistency, preservational, or semantic, in other words, in almost any non-correspondence theory of truth. It’s also useful for paraconsistent logics where we might use multiple truth values without intending a sort of dualism regarding existence. [ Bold is mind. rho]

***
Answer written •
Psychology
5d ago

What kind of ideas is a person with an IQ of 100 unable to grasp?

Gabriel Horn, (IQ 186 Cattell scale; 153 Wechsler.)

27.3k Views

Interesting question!

The difference between 100 and, say, 170, isn’t that great or remarkable. They’re both expressions of highly complex cognitive abilities, and as such merely nuances. It’s really not ‘an added 70%’. More accurately visualized, I’d say something like an extra (most of the time redundant) centimeter to a meter.

With the risk of being too abstract, I suppose the difference could be the ‘intuitive’ appreciation of omnipresent patterns and how these tie into everything all the time, like: interconnectedness of seeming randomness, different resolutions of our context echoing of similarities from micro to macro and vice versa, the mechanistics bringing about evolution, correlation vs. causality, the filtration dismissing pseudoscientific ideas, etc.

For many or most of the highly intelligent people I’ve met, this ‘sense’ is always there and, sort of, ‘pulls’ forward ideas and trajectories in a stream-of-consciousness type of way. For others, it seems, this isn’t there by default, even though it can certainly be called upon and brought forth.

(In terms of specific logical or creative challenges, I suppose anyone will understand anything once it’s explained clearly enough for that person – the challenge then being for the explainer, not the recipient.) [Bold is mine. rho]

Selected and edited from QuoraDOTcom

** **

27 March 2016

       Noon, local time. You spent yesterday afternoon buying nine bags of soil in two trips plus distributing and smoothing the soil in four locations in the front yard near your remaining surviving trees. You then promptly forgot about writing thinking you had nothing to post anyway. – Amorella

       1205 hours. This is not a good sign in terms of my cognitive abilities. Remembering has been a mixed blessing. Alas, my interpretation of Merlyn is suffering from it --not a great self-realization on an Easter morning.

       Such mixed self-humor, orndorff. – Amorella

       1210 hours. And, so goes the world too.

       Evening. Earlier you and Carol watched and enjoyed five episodes of “Doc Martin”. You watched the final of season seven first, then the rest of season one. Carol went up to read and you watched another episode of season four of “X-Files”. – Amorella

       2132 hours. The day has been pleasant. Carol made ham, potatoes, and mixed veggies for Easter dinner and cooked cut apples with cinnamon in a sauce for dessert – a nice surprise. I was going to work in the yard but did not. I did check up on Kim, Paul and the boys; they arrived at their place in Kissimmee. Trust they are having a very good time with their friends.

       Post. – Amorella 

No comments:

Post a Comment