this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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No Stupid Questions

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[–] Boinkage@lemmy.world 93 points 1 year ago (3 children)

No. It is equal to "if not B, then not A." You're welcome for doing your logic 101 homework for you.

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 28 points 1 year ago

First thing I thought lmao. Somebody is taking logic

[–] monotremata@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

Honestly what the homework is probably looking for is that it's equivalent to "B or not A." But yeah.

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Edit: I see the error in my below response. I leave wrong answers for conversational completeness

That's not equivalent either. "if not b, then not a" works if it's a sequence but doesn't work for options in which multiple inputs can lead to the same output. If you get pizza every Tuesday and Friday, then answering "what's for lunch" with "if Tuesday, then pizza" and "if Friday, then pizza" doesn't let it work in reverse. "what day is it" can't be answered with "if pizza lunch, then Tuesday"

[–] Boinkage@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Ya wrong.

If Tuesday, then pizza. And, if Friday, then pizza.

The contrapositive : if not pizza, then not Tuesday and not Friday.

What day is it? We're not having pizza. So it's not Tuesday or Friday.

Google contrapositives then holla back

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

That's a key detail I now see

[–] pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 1 year ago

You left out the "not" part - "If not pizza lunch, then not Tuesday" does indeed work.

[–] kogasa@programming.dev 5 points 1 year ago

Using standard definitions from propositional logic they are equivalent.

[–] Ragdoll_X@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

An example of why this is incorrrect.

If a card is the ace of spades, it is black.

A card is black if and only if it is the ace of spades.

There are other conditions under which B (a card is black) can happen, so the second statement is not true.

A conclusion that would be correct is "If a card is not black, it is not the ace of spades.". The condition is that if A is true B will also always be true, so if B is false we can be sure that A is false as well - i.e. "If not B, not A".

[–] Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

If Nazi, then fascist = true

Fascist, if and only Nazi = not true

If car, then vehicle = true

Vehicle if and only if car = not true

[–] Valmond@lemmy.mindoki.com 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I used the bananas are fruits analog but your one works well too!

[–] Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just figured with Lemmy’s interest in politics it seemed like an obvious example. I threw in the car because I didn’t want to be that guy who makes everything about nazis…

[–] Boinkage@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah careful with that, the logic example Nazis will be all over you if you don't mix it up some.

[–] Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Not everything is about Nazis, Boinkage, geez…

[–] Lafari@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If car, then vehicle = true

Car if and only if vehicle = true.

Is this correct?

Therefore "If A then B" = "A if and only if B" (or "If B then A" = "B if and only if A")?

[–] zenharbinger@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

B can still be true when a is false. iff means that b can only be true when a is true.

Also, the equivalent statement is.

vehicle if and only if car.

not

car only if vehicle

since a truck is a vehicle, the statement is false.

Somewhat wrong above:

A B a iff b

T T T

T F F

F T F

F F T

look online for truth tables.

[–] Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You’d have to firm up your definition of car and vehicle before you could decide that one. Does a hot wheels car count as a car? Does a vehicle have to be large enough to move people or freight?

[–] zenharbinger@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Don't confuse this guy with ontological questions.

This is straight truth table level stuff.

[–] Apepollo11@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You've have some examples, but in case they are not clear enough:

If [you have AIDS] then [you are unwell]

[You are unwell] if and only if [you have AIDS]

The first one is not the same as the second. Why? There are plenty of ways to be unwell, without necessary developing AIDS.

The first statement only defines one possible path to B, not all of them.

[–] AmidFuror@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not just HIV, but full blown AIDS?

[–] BananaTrifleViolin@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Actually a good example:

  • If you have AIDs (A) then you have HIV (B). True
  • You have HIV (B) if, and only if, you have AIDS (A). Not true
  • If you don't have HIV (B), then you don't have AIDs (A). True, and the actual inverse of "If A then B"; which is "If not B, then not A"
[–] AmidFuror@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

It's important to stress the "full blown" modifier in any example.

[–] feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago
[–] Some_Dumb_Goat@pawb.social 13 points 1 year ago

If A, then B

If Not B, then Not A

If it's raining then the grass is wet, but you can't tell if it's raining if the grass is wet, because of say, a hose or sprinkler.

All that you can tell is that if the grass is dry, then it is not raining, and I that's called a contrapositive.

[–] flx@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 year ago

if youre doing homework, i recommend writing out truth tables for the statements and comparing, gives you a bit more insight into the statement truth conditions

[–] Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

“If X is cat, then X is mammal” =?> “X is mammal if and only if X is cat”

Obviously doesn’t hold: What if X doge?

[–] umulu@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Great analogy!

[–] Neon@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

if I brake, my Car will stop.

will my Car only stop if i brake?

[–] lrnz92@feddit.it 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Neon@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

shhhhhhh. Nobody saw, nobody knows.

Also It's 00:30 over here, cut me some Slack.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I just saw a video on all the logical fallacies that exist, and this was one of them but my shit-ass memory can't recall what the name of the fallacy was.

[–] AmidFuror@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

It's Cunningham's Fallacy.

[–] Lafari@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I think it's affirming the consequent

Nope. The first statement doesn’t exclude any paths to B

[–] rufus@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A => B is not the same as B <=> A

[–] Toes@ani.social 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
[–] krdo@lmmy.net 1 points 1 year ago

The first statement only tells you when B is true. It says nothing about when it is false. The second statement both tells you when B is true (if A) and when it is not (only if A). Therefore, the two statements cannot be equal.