There exist the traditional five answers to a ‘Yes or No’ question:<\/p>\n
– ‘Yes’, indicating complete agreement
\n – ‘No’, indicating complete disagreement
\n – ‘Maybe’, indicating something in between on that axis
\n – ‘I don’t know’, indicating a lack of relevant information
\n – ‘Mu*’, or ‘unask the question, it contains an incorrect assumption’<\/p>\n
Recently, J EB (nee K) mentioned that ‘like’ is a new answer to a yes\/no question. (On my post ‘No Spoilers Awaken’)<\/p>\n
The Facebook ‘like’ seems to mean a number of different, sometimes overlapping things…
\n – ‘I like this post and I want you to know’
\n – ‘I agree with you’
\n – ‘I’m curious to hear the answer to this question’
\n – ‘I support you’
\n – ‘I understand your feelings’<\/p>\n
It is very clear (to me) that ‘like’ is a valid answer to a ‘Yes or No’ question, and it is most delightfully ambiguous. It feels more discovered than invented, as we’ve always had ‘interesting question’, it was just rarely expressed by random people around the world, in response to a conversation they are not explicitly a part of.<\/p>\n
*For those who wish a slightly more formal treatment: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mu_%28negative%29 specifically: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mu_%28negative%29#.22Unasking.22_the_question<\/p>\n
You may also be interested in the somewhat related: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Many-valued_logic<\/p>\n
But my favourite is probably: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Not_even_wrong (Thanks DJ!) This is one way to say ‘Mu’, but usually only if you’re trying to be insulting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There exist the traditional five answers to a ‘Yes or No’ question: – ‘Yes’, indicating complete agreement – ‘No’, indicating complete disagreement – ‘Maybe’, indicating something in between on that axis – ‘I don’t know’, indicating a lack of relevant information – ‘Mu*’, or ‘unask the question, it contains an incorrect assumption’ Recently, J EB … Continue reading The Six Answers to a ‘Yes or No’ Question<\/span>