Tag Archives: Lewis Carroll

October 14, 2023

Square Logic

Or do I mean Logic Square? Because it works either way. The Logic Square (or Square Logic) in question is a logic game created by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898) and introduced in his 1896 book Symbolic Logic Part I (a second part was published posthumously).

Dodgson was a capable mathematician, but most probably know him by his penname, Lewis Carroll, under which he wrote poetic fantasy fiction about a girl who goes on wild adventures.

But this is about his logic game. It’s like a square Venn diagram with game pieces.

5 Comments | tags: boolean logic, four-square, Lewis Carroll, logic, logic games, Venn diagram | posted in Basics, Math

December 19, 2020

Our Own Words

By Wyrd Smythe

In Through the Looking-Glass, Humpty Dumpty famously declares that words mean what he wants them to mean. I’ve known people to declare the same thing — that, for whatever reason, they can use their own meanings for words. (To be clear, Lewis Carroll was mocking the idea.)

While ideas matter more than the words used to express them, it’s a lot more challenging to communicate and discuss those ideas without a shared vocabulary. A common language that is rich and detailed makes the expression of ideas all the more precise and accurate.

This is why con artists prefer convoluted language: it’s a mask.

49 Comments | tags: Albert Einstein, facts, fantasy BS, FBS, Humpty Dumpty, language, Lewis Carroll, post-reality, reality, word play, words | posted in Rant, Society