From: Allin Cottrell (cottrell@WFU.EDU)
Date: Fri Jun 09 2006 - 20:30:00 EDT
On Fri, 9 Jun 2006, Ian Wright wrote:
> If I rent a tractor for a month at $10, which of the following
> statements is true?
> (a) I am renting a tractor and paying $10 per month.
> (b) I am renting a tractor for a month and paying $10.
>
> You say case (a) and assert that the price is $10 per month. So
> the price is quantified with respect to time. I say case (b) and
> assert that the price is $10. So the price is not quantitied
> with respect to time...
>
> If we go much further with this we will enter the realm of
> sophistry.
I'm afraid we are already well within the realm of sophistry with
the putative distinction between (a) and (b) above. The
dimensionality of the rental charge is unaffected by the choice of
locution:
(a) ($/time) / tractor = $ * time^{-1} * tractor^{-1}
(b) ($/tractor) / time = $ * tractor^{-1} * time^{-1}
Time drops out of neither formulation.
But since neither of us has succeeded in persuading the other in a
reasonable number of iterations, I feel there is not much point in
pursuing this particular topic.
Allin.
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