Sorry, yes. It's a good question to try to answer (and I, of course, like the maths analogy); but the sort that often does break down.
Q. Who are you? A. A series of successively better approximations to the answer under different assumptions. Q. Good. What about..?
...is a mutual learning experience the way fuzzy questions should be. But
Q. Who are you? A. A series of successively better approximations to the answer under different assumptions. Q. Yaaaah! Wrong! *torture with impausible necklace*
...is rather unfair :)
Or, more succintly, what you say at the end. Sometimes the answer is 'it depends'. For the assumptions do start to break down, in that in a normal discussion if you give your answers someone will say "that answer's too long" and someone else will say "but what if..." and then there's no non-contingent answer satisfying both.
no subject
Q. Who are you?
A. A series of successively better approximations to the answer under different assumptions.
Q. Good. What about..?
...is a mutual learning experience the way fuzzy questions should be. But
Q. Who are you?
A. A series of successively better approximations to the answer under different assumptions.
Q. Yaaaah! Wrong! *torture with impausible necklace*
...is rather unfair :)
Or, more succintly, what you say at the end. Sometimes the answer is 'it depends'. For the assumptions do start to break down, in that in a normal discussion if you give your answers someone will say "that answer's too long" and someone else will say "but what if..." and then there's no non-contingent answer satisfying both.