You also wouldn't say that a surface that could be dried by wiping wasn't wet if it had water on it, but claiming that any surface in contact with water is wet insofar as it is not water implies that.

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[–] 14 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Water is wet because we call it wet

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago (7 children)

    This is actually the best argument I've heard on this.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (6 children)

    And a hot dog is not a sandwich because most people don't call it a sandwich.

    The definitions of words are based on how we use them for efficient communication. They don't exist to fit into perfectly neat, logical, consistent boxes.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Also because sandwiches are a different shape. Hotdogs are a type of taco

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (1 child)

    Take a grain of sand from a heap. Is it still a heap of sand? Probably.

    Take another grain, then another. Keep going until it’s no longer a heap. Could take a while, but you’ll get there eventually. When exactly?

    When you do, you’ve learned how much these fuzzy definitions suck.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    If I was working at a molecular level to notice that I certainly would.

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