is this impossible to answer...

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is this impossible to answer...

Postby jhmagic1 » Jul 23rd, '09, 22:44



What is the opposite to the answer of this question?

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Postby Replicant » Jul 23rd, '09, 23:15

I don't think it is possible to answer to that. If we omit the "opposite" part of the question for a moment and consider this question: What is the answer to this question? I don't think that can be answered; therefore, you can't say what the opposite to an unanswerable question is. I think it is rather like asking, "how long is a piece of string?"

Having said all that, I bet you some smart *rse comes along shortly with a clever answer. :D

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Postby jhmagic1 » Jul 23rd, '09, 23:19

"how long is a piece of string?" - twice as long as half its length. :wink:

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Postby Replicant » Jul 23rd, '09, 23:21

Smart *rse.

;)

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Postby Mandrake » Jul 23rd, '09, 23:26

Replicant wrote:I think it is rather like asking, "how long is a piece of string?"

Having said all that, I bet you some smart *rse comes along shortly with a clever answer. :D


Smart @rse reporting...
You take the piece of string, coil it into a perfect circle and the answer is 2 pi r ( Total lack of 'pi' symbol, sorry!)

Thank you and goodnight, smart @*rse has left the building....

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Postby Replicant » Jul 23rd, '09, 23:28

It appears our good forum is frequented by @rses of the smart variety tonight.

EDIT: Or you could just say pi x d, where d is the diameter of said coiled string. (Although I'm not convinced that actually tells you how long the string is - doesn't it just tell you the circumference of the coiled string?).

So has anyone got an answer for the original question? Stop with the string already!

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Re: is this impossible to answer...

Postby Ted » Jul 24th, '09, 00:33

jhmagic1 wrote:What is the opposite to the answer of this question?


You are asking two questions. The first is, "What is the answer [to] this question?", to which the answer can only be meaningless nonsense. It's like a child shouting "Why?" when nothing has been said or done. The second question is a request for the opposite of the first answer. That could be "something meaningful" or "something with meaning" etc..., which is the opposite of something without meaning.

That was 10 minutes well spent...

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Re: is this impossible to answer...

Postby IAIN » Jul 24th, '09, 00:39

jhmagic1 wrote:What is the opposite to the answer of this question?


surely, it's the question? thats what i'd say, in my zen mood...

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Postby Ted » Jul 24th, '09, 00:41

I think the whole 'opposite' thing is tricky. What is the opposite of:

love (hate or no love?)
God (the devil or no God - or is that the same thing?)
Orange hamsters (black hamsters, blonde ones or giraffes)

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Postby bananafish » Jul 24th, '09, 08:22

surely some things just don't have opposites?

What is the opposite of purple?
What is the opposite of grass?
What is the opposite of combine harverster?
What is the opposite of Iain?

Purple I suppose you could answer as there is probably an opposite in the visual spectrum but the others? Anyway - ignoring that point for a minute.

The question itself is, "What is the answer to THIS question"

Surely we are assuming there can only be one answer, but it isn't a matter of logic, it is a matter of philosophy, so there could be many answers, all of which are neither right nor wrong.

One answer could simply be:

"There is no answer"

So the opposite could be

"There is an answer" or maybe "there is no question" or perhaps, more sensibly the answer to the question

What is the opposite to the answer of this question?

is

There is no question

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Postby Lawrence » Jul 24th, '09, 08:36

Would the opposite of purple be yellow? I imagine it could be argued as such.

Question on the pub quiz a couple of weeks ago: In maths, what is the opposite of multiplication?
:roll:

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Postby Mr_Grue » Jul 24th, '09, 10:30

Some words are the opposite of themselves, though.

Dust
Cleave
... some others...

Last edited by Mr_Grue on Jul 24th, '09, 11:21, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Mr_Grue » Jul 24th, '09, 10:31

bananafish wrote:What is the opposite of Iain?


Craig?

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Postby Lenoir » Jul 24th, '09, 11:04

bananafish wrote:What is the opposite of Iain?


Intelligent?
Funny?
Attractive?

8)

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Postby gunnarkr » Jul 24th, '09, 11:44

It's like the question: Is rain wet? The logical answer is NO. If rain would be wet, you surely would be able to make it more wet or dry it up, but as you can't do that – rain can not be wet. It's what goes in the rain that gets wet. :)

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