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What is the name of this thread?

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5th July 2008, 05:08pm
#1
by normajeanyates
london [often in calcutta india] International
Member Since: Jan 2008
Member Points: 1758

What is the name of this thread?

5th July 2008, 05:14pm
#2
by Cartesian
Nottingham England
Member Since: Apr 2008
Member Points: 11
"What is the name of this thread?" obviously!
5th July 2008, 05:25pm
#3
by Rael
Calgary, Alberta Canada
Member Since: Sep 2007
Member Points: 2781

This sentence refers to itself.


5th July 2008, 05:25pm
#4
by normajeanyates
london [often in calcutta india] International
Member Since: Jan 2008
Member Points: 1758
yes cartesian, that is obviously the question to ask! But what is the answer? Tongue out and why the scare-quotes? you tryin' to scare me? Tongue out Please read Lynn Truss's book and punctuate your posts better next time <slot for finger-wagging-emoticon> ;)
5th July 2008, 05:36pm
#5
by normajeanyates
london [often in calcutta india] International
Member Since: Jan 2008
Member Points: 1758

no rael, i dont think the name of this thread is 'this sentence refers to itself' either Tongue out.

Nor is it the less-quibblable form of 'this sentence refers to itself' discovered by Willard Quine and published in 1953 in his book 'set theory and its logic' (and reproduced by Hofstadter in GEB) namely:

'

"appended by its own quotation yields a falsehood" appended by its own quotation yields a falsehood

' 

[ one can still quibble with it in that it is not a statement - the full stop (period) is missing. But that is repairable by routine methods, at the cost of making the sentence very long and clumsy. ] 


 
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