| This question <89|86> overall <96|98> NullPointerException: <97|97>. graded A– weight 50% |
| Question 150: Describe a real or imagined situation (not necessarily related to Marx's text) where someone says, “a pair of shoes is a pair of shoes,” or “a car is a car,” or “20 yards of linen are 20 yards of linen,” or “I am I” (compare footnote 19 below). Describe exactly what is meant by this phrase in the situation you choose. |
| [97] NullPointerException: A computer is a computer. I think statements such as “A car is a car” or “A pair of shoes is a pair of shoes” are logically meaningless. When you think about it, a lot of things people say are logically absurd, contradictory, or ironic. For example, a friend of mine recently told me about a restaurant that had a sandwich that was “to die for”, which I took to mean that the sandwich was really good. When you think about what she said logically though, would she really die for a sandwich? I seriously doubt it. |
| Logic of the statement aside, I think statements such as “A car is a car” can have several meanings. Jin [86] tells us that her father says to her “a pair of shoes is a pair of shoes” in order to subtly tell her to do something, in this case to buy fewer shoes and more textbooks. I think it can also mean that someone is ignorant about what it is they are comparing. For example, I have been writing software since I was in high school, and have frequently bought new computers to take advantage of increases in computing power. My mother, who has trouble with all but the most basic of computer tasks, doesn't understand the need for a new computer every year or two. The old computer looks pretty much the same as the old one, runs the same programs, has the same operating system, and runs the simple programs she needs at relatively the same speed. To her, they are the same thing. |
| “A computer is a computer,” she tells me. While the systems are practically identical to her, there is a quantifiable difference to me. A program takes 4 minutes to compile on the old computer, versus 45 seconds on the new computer. |
| I think that when someone makes a statement like this, they commonly lack the knowledge required to tell the difference between them. |
| Hans: Don't underestimate the wisdom of what people generally do. |
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