Return-Path: Received: from SEGATE.SUNET.SE by xiron.pc.helsinki.fi with smtp (Linux Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0tJvCK-0000ZUC; Mon, 27 Nov 95 06:29 EET Message-Id: Received: from listmail.sunet.se by SEGATE.SUNET.SE (LSMTP for OpenVMS v1.0a) with SMTP id D29A3F82 ; Mon, 27 Nov 1995 5:29:44 +0100 Date: Sun, 26 Nov 1995 20:28:50 -0800 Reply-To: "Peter L. Schuerman" Sender: Lojban list From: "Peter L. Schuerman" Subject: Re: fuzzy questions X-To: Jorge Llambias X-cc: Lojban List , jorge@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu To: Veijo Vilva In-Reply-To: <199511270217.VAA00325@minerva.phyast.pitt.edu> Content-Length: 879 Lines: 17 On Sun, 26 Nov 1995, Jorge Llambias wrote: > How can I know what 0.6-tallish means? I've no idea whether that means > that you are taller or shorter than me. What if you say "I'm 0.6-tallish, > how about you?" There is no way that I can respond truthfully with > a number, since I would be commiting myself to being taller or shorter > than you, but I have no way of knowing how 0.6-tallish translates to > meters, and if you tell me the equivalence between tallishness and meters > then tallishness ceases to be a subjective word and becomes a measure > word. Forgive me for quoting this, but it bears repeating. It summarizes quite nicely the problem with these sorts of constructions. Peter Schuerman plschuerman@ucdavis.edu Co-editor, SPECTRA Online for back issues: http://www.well.com/user/phandaal/