Quote Originally Posted by 'Vyndree',index.php?page=Thread&postID=154552#post 154552
By saying "Some software that is free is not bad" they are not saying "All software that is free is good."


How about a Venn diagram to show you why your deduction is illogical?
Sorry, I should've labeled this. The green circle is "things that are good" and the red circle is "things that are bad".
Basically, the "partway shaded" area is "Something exists here" and the "solid shaded" area is "All things exist here"

You argued that they said "All things exist in the circle that NOT bad"
They actually said "Some things exist in the circle that is good."

So if we assume that something cannot be both good and bad (and I'd argue it can, because the same program can be "good" for one person is "bad" for another) and the two circles didn't intersect at all, then it STILL wouldn't match because one argument is existential and one argument is total.

I never actually stated an personal opinion, so whose opinion is "wrong" or "right" is a seperate topic altogether. I'm just saying, you inferred that they said "all software that is free is good" (bottom figure) whereas the truth is, they didn't -- they said "SOME software that is free is NOT bad".

I'm not sayind anything about whether their opinion is right or wrong -- I'm saying your DEDUCTION about what they said is logically unsound -- they never said the words you're putting into their mouth. And it's no fun arguing with someone when you say "The sky is green!" and they argue back "So, you think the sky is purple!". It doesn't matter if the fact that I said "The sky is green" is wrong or right, nor does it matter if you prove that "The sky is purple" is wrong or right. The point is, you're using the weight of an argument that's completely irrelevant to what was actually said -- it's CLOSE, and it's easy to make that kind of mistake, but they really didn't say anything of the sort.

(P.S. I'm using the word "I" here simply because "They" makes things sound more complicated)

You can't have a fair and resonable argument with people who make no sense.


Basically, I can't have an argument with you if you put words into my mouth that I didn't say. So I'm not going to have one, but I will point the inconsistency out to you so that we can have a sound argument in the future.