Category Archives: For all | 所有

For all

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Universe 2.1

“All” is “所有” in Chinese. Literally,

all = 所有 = the place has

The definition of word “universe” is “everything” or “all the things“. 

universe = all the things

However, this definition is not 100% sharp, because the meaning of “all” is relative to a list or a place. In order to give a meaning to the word “all“, you have to provide a list or a place in the sentence it appears.

When referring to a list, for example, the meaning of the phrase “all of A, B, and C” is the same as “A, B, and C“.

all of A, B, and C  =  A, B, and C

However, the definition of “universe” does not specify a list, such as

universe = all of A, B, and C

When referring to a place, for example, the meaning of the phrase “all the people in this house” is:

You keep looking for people in this house. Whoever you can find, include him or her onto your list of people. Once you cannot find new people in the house anymore, your list will have “all the people in this house“.

In other words, in order to give the word “all” a meaning, you have to provide a range for searching. However, the definition of “universe” does not specify a place, such as

universe = all the things in X,

unless we define the word “universe” as

universe = all the things in universe

However, this is a circular definition.

— Me@2012.10.16

— Me@2012.12.11

— Me@2012.12.20

2012.12.21 Friday (c) All rights reserved by ACHK

Universe

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exists = is in = belongs to = can be found

“Exists” is “存在” in Chinese. Literally,

exists = 存在 = is stored in

“X is stored in” is not a complete sentence because it lacks an object. X is stored in where?

Existence is asking for an address. If you know something exists, but do not know in which it is stored, you can always say “X is in the universe“. The concept “universe” acts as a universal address or universal container. 

But by definition, the universe itself cannot have any address. So the sentence “the universe exists” is meaningless.

— Me@2012.10.18

2012.12.14 Friday (c) All rights reserved by ACHK

無限年

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蘋果 與 Apple, 1.2 | Electric Field and Electric Potential, 1.2 | 物理語言 1.2

這段改編自 2010 年 6 月 9 日的對話。

你在讀數學和物理時遇到的困難，有時，其實不是「數學問題」或者「物理問題」，而是「語言問題」。

例如，如果我不跟你說，「electric field」（電場）和「electric potential」（電勢），其實是描述同一類物理現象的兩種不同語言，你可能一直會以為，它們是兩種不同的東西，繼而反覆思考它們的關係，庸人自擾一番。

所以，下次在 數學、物理 或 其他科 遇到疑惑時，你要知道，那很大機會是「語言問題」。只要把相關問題的重要字眼釐清，難題的神秘感往往會自然消失。

又例如，讀「微積分」時，「無限」好像十分驚嚇。其實，並不是真的有一樣東西，或者一個數字，叫做「無限」。它只是一個語言的技巧，說話的方法。每逢我們說「無限」時，即是沒有那樣東西。

例如，甲問乙：「你欠我的錢，什麼時候會歸還呢？」

乙答：「無限年之後。」

乙的意思，並不是真的有一個時間長度，叫做「無限年」。他等「無限年」之後，會把錢還給甲。乙的真正意思是，他不肯還錢。

再例如，「無人跑得快過我」，並不是指有一個人名叫「無人」，他跑得快過我。「無人」只是一種說話的方法。「無人跑得快過我」的真正意思是，「我是所有人之中，跑得最快的。」

— Me@2012.09.10

2012.09.10 Monday (c) All rights reserved by ACHK