1 2 Anonymous: I don't like the bugs __ the snakes there. Which conjunction should I use to fill in the above blank, and or or? Either one sounds fine to me. CJ "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Teo: "And" should not join items when the sense is negative. (Common English Errors of Chinese Students, by David Bunton)Taiwan Contributing Member 1,620Thank you very much for your reply.
 Veteran Member 7,005 On the other hand, if there are both bugs and snakes somewhere and I don't like them, it seems logical to say I don't like the bugs and the snakes there. Hi, Does this have anything to do with boolean algebra (De Morgan's law)?  NOT (A or B) = NOT A and NOT B NOT (A and B) = NOT A or NOT B Best, Hoa Thai EDIT NOTE: According to De Morgan, when we say we don't like egg and cheese, we mean we don't like egg or we don't like cheese. On the orther hand, when we say we don't like egg or cheese, we mean we don't like egg and we don't like cheese. Best Regards - Hoa Thai Does this have anything to do with boolean algebra (De Morgan'slaw)?Only approximately, because in the world of formal logic,the or is always inclusive or, but in ordinary English, or is frequently exclusive or and less often inclusive or. In the case at hand, it's more a matter of not liking two things separately or together. I don't like bugs or snakes. = I don't like the bugs "separately" or the snakes "separately". I don't like bugs and snakes. = I don't like bugs and snakes "together". In this case, both amount to the same thing in practical terms, atleast to my ear. The same may not be true of all suchcombinations of a negation with and and or. CJ "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Hi CaliJim, I agree with you. I asked the question to confirm my view. When people starttalking binary stuff and bend the logic to fit the incalculably combinatoryinteractive world of ours, I often asks myself - what the future would looklike when exact sciences are applied to defend faulty ideas? I hope the author of the English textbook mentioned earlier did not rely on Booleanalgebra for his thoughts. Here is my view: In the binary world, where black and white is clearlydefined and every state could discreetlybe assigned with either 0 or 1, when one says, it is not zero, it must be 1, and vice versa. In our world, usingthe same logic, not bugs means everything else including snakes. Therefore: - I don’t like bugs -> I like everything elseincluding snakes. - I don’t like snakes -> I like everything elseincluding bugs. To use fewer letters, let’s replace bugs with A, everythingelse with B, and snakes with C. First, let’s combine Idon’t like A and I don’t like Cwe would have: I like B including C and I like B including A, whichcould be reduced to I like B including Aand C, which could then be further reduced to I like everything! Second, let’s combine I don’t like A or I don’t like C we would have: I like B including C or I like B including A. Using inclusive or, we could end up with I like B including A and C, which couldthen be further reduced to I like everything! Using exclusive or (either one but not both), we end upsaying I like B, but I don’t like B! All of the results are nonsensical. Therefore, neither the Booleanlogic nor the algebra operators are at fault. It is the faulty application oflogic, equivalent to fitting the black hole into the 2-dimentional Euclidean world. Having said that, I still wonder - in the negative context -whether or is more accurate than and, in principle? (Whatever thatprinciple is, if there is one). Nevertheless, if or is the same as and, Ithink using or would gain theacceptance of the people who insist they are right – right? Best Regards, Hoa Thai Best Regards - Hoa Thai Having said that, I still wonder - in the negative context -whether or is more accurate than and, in principle?Yes. I think so -- as long as the combination with and doesn't form a single conceptual unit. For example, even though or is probably more accurate in most cases, I wouldn't recommend using or in these sentences: I don't like fish and chips. I don't like spaghetti and meat balls. because 'fish and chips' is the name of a particular dish -- acombination which is thought of as a unit. The same would be trueof 'spaghetti and meat balls'. Other than in cases like these, you're right. or is probably the better choice. CJ "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche More
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