7

Something is confusing me, it's about real world units vs abstract ones and what should be abstract and absolute.

Here's my problem:

1 dog + 1 dog = 2 dogs

A dog is an abstract unit, all dogs are different, yet this equation still makes sense. You can't convert a dog to a number of equal particles (so you could relate it to other objects) and say for example:

1 dog = 5u
2 dogs = 5u + 5u = 10u

In the other hand, if you have a dog named Morgan (a unique dog), you could say:

1 Morgan = 3u
1 Morgan + 1 Morgan = 2 Morgans = 6u

But if you do this:

1 Morgan + 1 dog = 2 dogs
1 dog = 1 Morgan = 3u

How do I say that Morgan is a dog and relate them both?

Does it make sense to have any absolute units? Because we don't know everything and everything might change in different places or times.

Thank you.

mrf
  • 44,697
seven-dev
  • 193
  • A dog might not be a very good unit to use in any "universal" sense, but surely if we're working with seconds or meters or Joules or anything like that, we have no such troubles. – Milo Brandt Mar 20 '16 at 16:37
  • If a dog is 5u and Morgan is just 3u, how can Morgan be a dog? – mrf Mar 20 '16 at 16:46
  • @MiloBrandt I was watching a ted talk on gravitational waves and he said that the distance between to points changed when the wave passed, wouldn't that invalidate a bunch of formulas where meters are used like you said? http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_adams_what_the_discovery_of_gravitational_waves_means – seven-dev Mar 20 '16 at 16:47
  • @mrf Some dog can be 5u but not all dogs are 5u. Morgan is a dog that is 3u. – seven-dev Mar 20 '16 at 16:49
  • In that case you can't say "1 dog = 5u". Just because some distances are 1m, not all distances are. – mrf Mar 20 '16 at 16:50
  • @mrf That's what I said: A dog is an abstract unit, all dogs are different, yet this equation still makes sense. You CAN'T convert a dog to a number of equal particles (so you could relate it to other objects) and say for example: 1 dog = 5u – seven-dev Mar 20 '16 at 16:52

1 Answers1

6

Well I find something wrong with this equation:

1 dog = 1 Morgan = 3u

Morgan is a dog, but a dog is not Morgan. It's like saying because a human is a mammal, a mammal is a human. But, Morgan is more specific than just "dog", so you can't set them equal to each other.

suomynonA
  • 7,303
  • So how would I relate a dog with Morgan? Since they're both dogs, 1 dog + 1 Morgan should be 2 dogs. How do I say "Morgan is a dog, but a dog is not Morgan."? – seven-dev Mar 20 '16 at 16:51
  • There might be a problem with that other equation also. 1 dog + 1 Morgan technically is two dogs, but 1 dog + 1 Morgan is not equal to two dogs, because those two dogs may just be random dogs and as I said before, Morgan is a dog, a dog is not Morgan. – suomynonA Mar 22 '16 at 03:38