Translating Abraham Lincoln quote into symbolic logic

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In summary, the conversation discusses the translation of three statements into logic regarding the concept of being able to fool people at different times. The first two statements describe situations where people can be fooled at all times or some of the time, while the third statement talks about the inability to fool people at all times. The conversation also brings up the importance of using two variables in the fooling-operator and the correct placement of quantifiers. The final part of the conversation presents the negation of the three statements, which states that either there are people who cannot be fooled at any given time, or every person has times when they cannot be fooled, or everyone can be fooled all the time. However, it is argued that this negation is incorrect and that
  • #1
Eclair_de_XII
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TL;DR Summary
Express the following in symbolic logic, and then write their respective negations.

1. You can fool all of the people some of the time.
2. You can fool some of the people all of the time.
3. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Can anybody check my work regarding these three statements, the third, in particular, please? I think I got the first two statements down, but I think that I'd feel safer if I got a second opinion. I think I also have a correct translation of the third statement down, but only because I understood that its negation translates to what you'd (read:fig) expect in common English. I originally had another answer for the third statement, but realized that its negation was not exactly correct. I am unsure about how to translate my original answer into English.

\begin{eqnarray}
m:=\textrm{moment}\\
T:=\textrm{time}\\
P:=\textrm{set of people}\\
f(x):=\textrm{You can fool }x
\end{eqnarray}

===1===
##\exists m\in T,\forall x\in P, f(x)##
There are moments in time s.t. you can fool every person (in the set of people).

##\forall m\in T,\exists x\in P,\lnot f(x)##
For every moment in time, there is a person whom you cannot fool.

===2===
##\exists x\in P, \forall m\in T, f(x)##
There are people whom you can fool for all moments in time.

##\forall x\in P,\exists m\in T,\lnot f(x)##
All people have a moment in time when they cannot be fooled.

===3===
##\forall m\in T,\lnot (\exists x\in P, \lnot f(x))##
For every moment in time, there is not a person whom you cannot fool.
Original answer: ##\forall m\in T,\lnot\exists x\in P, \lnot f(x)##

##\exists m\in T,\exists x\in P,\lnot f(x)##
There is a moment in time during which there is a person that cannot be fooled.
 
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  • #2
3 is the negation of what Lincoln said.
 
  • #3
I know nothing about this stuff, but surely you need something like ##f(x, T):=## you can fool person ##x## at time ##T##?
 
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  • #4
Second that. The fooling-people-operator depends on two quantities.
 
  • #5
This is helpful. I think that nixing every instance of ##m\in##, and replacing every instance of ##f(x)## with ##f(x,T)##, would suffice to correct for this?
 
  • #6
I don't understand why you wrote two statements for part 1 and 2. Don't you just need the first one each time?
 
  • #7
Office_Shredder said:
I don't understand why you wrote two statements for part 1 and 2. Don't you just need the first one each time?
He had to give the negation as well.
 
  • #8
Whoops, missed that part.
 
  • #9
From https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~rdeville/teaching/347/hw2S.pdf 4. 2.19.

Let P be the set of all people, let T be the set of all times, and let F(p, t) be true if it is possible to fool person p at time t. The first clause of the sentence is “You can fool all of the people some of the time”, which translated into logic becomes $$(∃t ∈ T )(∀p ∈ P)F(p, t).$$ Here is one place to be careful! What Lincoln is saying is that there are times that you can fool everyone, which is what we have written mathematically. The statement $$(∀p ∈ P)(∃t ∈ T )F(p, t)$$ is not what he meant, for this is saying that for any given person, there is some time at which they can be fooled. The second clause of the sentence is “You can fool some of the people all of the time”. The way to translate this in logic is to say $$(∃p ∈ P)(∀t ∈ T )F(p, t),$$ meaning that there are people out there who can always be fooled. Again, flipping the quantifiers gives the wrong sense, because the statement $$(∀t ∈ T )(∃p ∈ P)F(p, t)$$ means that at any given time, there are some people to be fooled, but these could be different people every time you try it — and he’s saying there are some people who can always be fooled. Finally, the last clause is “You can’t fool all of the people all of the time”, which is then $$¬(∀p ∈ P)(∀t ∈ T )F(p, t).$$ This case is simplest since it doesn’t matter which order quantifiers come in if they are the same type of quantifier. Also, we can push the ¬ past the quantifiers, and a logically equivalent statement is $$(∃p ∈ P)(∃t ∈ T )¬F(p, t).$$ This means, of course, that there is at least one given person and one given time such that that person cannot be fooled then. So, putting Lincoln’s whole statement together gives $$((∃t ∈ T )(∀p ∈ P)F(p, t)) ∧ ((∃p ∈ P)(∀t ∈ T )F(p, t)) ∧ ((∃p ∈ P)(∃t ∈ T )¬F(p, t))$$ To do the negation, we need two rules: the first is the one we already used to push a ¬ past a quantifier, and the second is the DeMorgan’s Law which says $$¬(P ∧ Q ∧ R) = (¬P) ∨ (¬Q) ∨ (¬R).$$ So we have $$¬((∃t ∈ T )(∀p ∈ P)F(p, t)) ∧$$
$$((∃p ∈ P)(∀t ∈ T )F(p, t)) ∧$$
$$((∃p ∈ P)(∃t ∈ T )¬F(p, t)) (¬(∃t ∈ T )(∀p ∈ P)F(p, t)) ∨$$
$$(¬(∃p ∈ P)(∀t ∈ T )F(p, t)) ∨$$
$$(¬(∃p ∈ P)(∃t ∈ T )¬F(p, t)) ((∀t ∈ T )(∃p ∈ P)¬F(p, t)) ∨$$
$$((∀p ∈ P)(∃t ∈ T )¬F(p, t)) ∨ ((∀p ∈ P)(∀t ∈ T )F(p, t)).$$ The English translation of this is “One of the following three things is true: either it’s true that at any given time, there are people who cannot be fooled, or it’s true that every person has times at which they cannot be true, or it’s true that everyone can be fooled at all times.” My feeling is that Lincoln is right, and this negation is wrong.
 

FAQ: Translating Abraham Lincoln quote into symbolic logic

What is symbolic logic?

Symbolic logic is a formal system of logic that uses symbols to represent logical relationships between propositions. It is a way to represent logical arguments and statements in a concise and precise manner.

How do you translate a quote into symbolic logic?

To translate a quote into symbolic logic, you must first identify the logical structure of the quote by breaking it down into propositions and identifying the logical operators (such as "and," "or," "not") that connect them. Then, assign symbols to represent each proposition and logical operator, and use the rules of symbolic logic to construct a logical argument that represents the quote.

What are the benefits of translating a quote into symbolic logic?

Translating a quote into symbolic logic can help to clarify the logical structure of the quote and make it easier to analyze and evaluate. It also allows for a more concise and precise representation of the quote, which can be useful in fields such as mathematics, computer science, and philosophy.

Are there any limitations to translating a quote into symbolic logic?

While symbolic logic can be a useful tool for representing logical arguments, it may not always capture the full meaning or context of a quote. It also requires a solid understanding of the rules and symbols of symbolic logic, which may be a barrier for those who are not familiar with the system.

Can symbolic logic be used to translate any quote?

Symbolic logic can be used to translate any quote that contains logical relationships between propositions. However, some quotes may be more complex and require more advanced knowledge of symbolic logic to accurately represent. In some cases, it may also be necessary to make certain assumptions or interpretations in order to translate a quote into symbolic logic.

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