Is half a sandwich still a sandwich? 2

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

Is half a sandwich still a sandwich?

Personally, I'd say yes... but some people I've asked have said no.

What do you think?

Dan


[tt]D'ya think I got where I am today because I dress like Peter Pan here?[/tt]

 

[craigsboyd]

IMHO, half a sandwich is not a sandwich. "A sandwich" strongly implies "a whole sandwich". If you ordered a sandwich and it came cut in half (or you cut it in half before you consumed it), you would not say to someone, "I had two sandwiches for lunch". Nor would you say that you had 30 sandwiches, though it took as many bites to devour it. If one agrees that a half constitutes the whole then that which cannot even be seen with the naked eye would be a sandwich... there does appear to be some problems with that logic, yes?

Half a sandwich is a part, a cut, a piece, a section, a segment, a slice, a subdivision, a quantity, a helping, and maybe even a serving. It is not however, a sandwich.

I've attempted to draw a line here... but it is not so simple. For if one says that a sandwich is irreducible, then one must conclude that a sandwich that has lost a single crumb is no longer a sandwich. Further clarification is required to make the line sure. A sandwich is not completely irreducible, it must however be indistinguishable by the beholder from the original, intended, and/or expected form. "A Sandwich" refers to that form, and not to subsequent divisions. Subsequent divisions in, or even deviations from, this form will be made referencing or relating to the form, such as in the case of "half a sandwich".

http://www.sweetpotatosoftware.com

 

[Sheco]

i don't think english is imprecise; in fact, it can be as precise as you make it (like code, it can be sloppy or exact, depending on you)

That reminded me of this:

Q: Why is everyone so obsessed about ninjas?

A: Ninjas are the ultimate paradox. On the one hand they don't give a crap, but on the other hand, ninjas are very careful and precise.

The above from the Q & A section of The Official Ninja Webpage

 

[tsdragon]

My two (insert your local currency here) worth:

A half a sandwich IS a sandwich, but it is not a WHOLE sandwich.

Two half-dollars ARE a dollar, but they are not a dollar BILL. If I sold you something for a dollar and you gave me two halves, or four quarters, or ten dimes, I would be just as satisfied as if you had given me a dollar bill.

It really boils down to what you mean by "sandwich" or "dollar" or whatever.

(Hate Miracle Whip, love Mayo and, obviously, mustard.)

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[GwydionM]

i don't think english is imprecise;... it can be sloppy or exact, depending on you).

Is this 'you' in the sense of the person you are answering, 'you' in the sense of the person writing, 'you' in the sense of all likely readers or 'you' in some other sense?

------------------------------
An old man who lives in the UK

 

[spewn]

like i said, it's semantics.

and it's "you" as in all 3 and all others. i can recite a phrase in perfect grammatical english, yet you will interpret that phrase only up to your level of understanding of english/grammer/definition...

off the cuff, didn't expect to have to define "you"...

- g

 

[craigsboyd]

i don't think english is imprecise;

It depends on what you mean by "is". <g>

Sorry, bad joke and probably only funny to those from the US who are right of center.

http://www.sweetpotatosoftware.com

 

[SantaMufasa]

A purple star to Craig for his very eloquent brief from 21 May 05 4:23. You coulda/shoulda been a lawyer. I'm impressed!

Also, Craig, I had a good laugh when I considered the incredible difference in meanings between:

I don't think english is imprecise...
versus
I don't think english are imprecise...

Cheers,


Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[craigsboyd]

SantaMufasa,

Thank you for the star. I tried to cover all the bases in that one. It's not as easy as it first appears to convince someone that "half a sandwich" is not "a sandwich". "Because it just isn't" comes to mind, but is too easily discounted by those who demand the reasoning behind such a statement.

"I don't think english are imprecise..." <bg>

http://www.sweetpotatosoftware.com

 

[SantaMufasa]

Craig,

Whether or not English are imprecise depends, I believe, on the individual English whose precision you are evaluating. I personally know many English that I think are imprecise, but approximately at the same ratio per capita of Americans that are imprecise.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[spewn]

so it sounds like you know alot of imprecise people, american and english.

- g

 

[SantaMufasa]

Precisely !!!

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[earthandfire]

>>I don't think English is imprecise
>>I don't think English are imprecise

I presume that the first line refers to the English language, whereas the second the English people.

That being the case, I don't think the second makes sense.

Should it not be:
I don't think the English are precise.

 

[spewn]

"Should it not be"

your question means it shouldn't be your suggestion...shouldn't means should not, whereas you're confirming what it isn't...that which we already know...

so the answer to your question is:

yes, and that's why it isn't.

- g

 

[SantaMufasa]

Earth,

Either sentence is acceptable: with or without the article, "the". And yes, you picked up on the irony of is versus are in this instance.

Cheers,

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[craigsboyd]

spewn,

Nothing would be what it is, Because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise -what it is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?

http://www.sweetpotatosoftware.com

 

[ggauthier]

IMHO, when you cut a sandwich into two, the result is two pieces that were once whole. When you start with "half a sandwich" you are just starting with less substance and it is indeed a full sandwich - just smaller.


This thread reminds me of my All Time Favorite oxymoron.

After cutting a sandwich into two parts, I asked my lunch mate to select one. Her reply was: I'm not so hungry, you take the larger half.

-glenn

 

[SantaMufasa]

...which reminds me of the two fellows dining at Marie Callendar's Pie House. One of the diners orders from the waitress a cherry pie for the two of them. The waitress asks, "Do you want me to cut it in six pieces or in eight?"

To which the diner replies, "You'd better cut it in just six pieces...I don't think we could eat eight."

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.