Skip to main content

The Transitive Property

I'm a logical person, in the sense that I have an affinity for things like logic and abstract concepts. I suspect that it started when I was a kid and I just wanted to know how things worked. That mentality will quickly lead you down the path of math and science, so I am no stranger to the "hard sciences." According to Scott Adams, that also means I am no stranger to an abnormal life, though, so I'm not about to brag.

For the most part, this serves me well. I have a decent shot of solving every day problems, and it has led to a career that I mostly enjoy.

There is, however, one very small problem. An inquisitive mind isn't something you easily turn on and off. That means that I am constantly amused by small logical fallacies around me. For example, I chuckle when I see an email that says, "if you are having trouble receiving this email, please email us."  It's just how it goes.

For some reason, though, the transitive property seems to come up again and again in all of this. Sometimes, I just crack silly jokes, but most of the time, it's not even my fault. For example:

  • Guy: "Whatever you're the goofy one"
    Girl: "Your butt"
    Guy: "Your face"
    Girl #2: "Wait ... so does that mean his butt is equal to her face?"

    That thought hadn't honestly crossed my mind until the second girl chimed in. Once I heard that, though, I couldn't un-hear it. That exchange is pretty much permanently etched into my memory, and I can't help but remember it whenever I hear two people arguing back and forth. As a result, I have laughed out loud in the middle of more than one argument.
  • Me: "Haha, way to make it obvious you're into that girl"
    Guy: "Nah, not like that"
    (Two weeks later)
    Me: "So you talk to [mutual friend] much?"
    Guy: "Sort of. Somehow he ended up on a team with a hot girl again. That guy has all the luck"

    Wait, "again?" Let me get this straight: our friend is always being partnered up with hot girls, and this is the second such time that you have seen this happen. By extension, the first girl was a hot girl, and you were jealous the first time, too. But you're not really interested? Methinks that my logic trumps your lying in this case.
  • Friend: "I drank out of that cup, he drank out of that cup. That means that we have kissed."

    This is actually my favorite example of the application of the transitive property. I had a friend tell me this a long while back, but it has stuck with me because of the sheer comedic gold (teenagers say some pretty funny things sometimes). This is another one that has the potential to cause me to laugh out loud for no apparent reason.
  So there you have it. It turns out that math & science aren't nearly as boring as you might think, and that I have some interesting friends.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Copycat

So, my sister had a kid, so I have a new baby nephew these days. He's the first in my immediate family, so there's all sorts of excitement having to do with him. We are all very excited for his parents, and we're all very excited to meet him. My parents, understandably, were the most excited of the immediate family to meet him. They were the first to spend time with my sister and my nephew, and they were quite happy about the whole thing. The funniest part, to me, was that my mom insisted that my nephew looks like me. I didn't really think much of it, since there's almost always someone who insists that family member X looks like family member Y. Of course, my mom has years and years of experience with this whole baby thing. Also, she's MY mother, so she is one of the two foremost authorities on what I looked like as a baby. Not even I can say what I looked like as a baby, so I really should've listened when she threw out that particular tidbit. In fact,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Waiting for the Suck

I've mentioned it before, but I like to watch some Netflix while I do the dishes . I don't remember when I started the practice, but it's become a routine at this point. It gives me something to focus on while I do chores, and it makes the whole experience more enjoyable. All in all, it seems like a good idea to me. Now, I know that my screen time is limited. I'm certainly not going to wash dishes for two hours, so I can't watch an entire movie in one go. Heck, half the time, I can't even watch half of a movie in a single session. Ultimately, that drives my viewing preferences, so that I tend to favor episodic shows. Basically, that's how I watch some show or another: one dishwashing session at a time. Recently, that's been the Star Trek: Enterprise show. I never watched it when it first came out on television, so this is my chance to see the whole series. As with many series, there are some good episodes and some not-so-good episodes. Still, it's a...
Post a Comment
Read more

All Good Things ...

August 8, 2009. Over twelve years ago, I started blogging with this simple post . I didn't really have a great reason for starting the blog, other than I wanted to try it out. I wanted to try writing and putting it where others could read it. I don't know, it just seemed like a new adventure to try. Along the way, there have been all sorts of posts and all sorts of life events, but through it all, I kept writing. It just became a part of what I do at some point. It wasn't a matter of whether I was going to write a blog post, it was a matter of when. The Mild Wife has described it as a "writing practice," and it was one of the reasons why I kept writing. Honestly, it's good practice, and it gives me an opportunity to hone my craft. I'm no professional author, but we all have to write stuff in our everyday lives. Why not give yourself reps to get better at it? However, I think it's time for that practice to change. My weekly anecdotes sure kept me amused...
Post a Comment
Read more