this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
291 points (94.5% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26278 readers
1421 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

At work we somehow landed on the topic of how many holes a human has, which then evolved into a heated discussion on the classic question of how many holes does a straw have.

I think it's two, but some people are convinced that it's one, which I just don't understand. What are your thoughts?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I believe the confusion lies in the word "holes" when you are thinking about openings or exits. Just my 2 cents.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, I agree. "Hole" is poorly defined. This isn't a technical question about straws but a technical question about language.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's the gist of practically all philosophical thought experiments.

When is a heap of sand no longer a heap? I dunno, define "heap" and there's your answer. It's not going to be a useful answer though because the rest of the world doesn't define the word with enough precision for the question to be meaningful in the first place. There is no authority on Earth that can do that. You can define the problem in precise mathematical terms but then it will NOT be the same thing as a plain-English "heap" and you'd be pulling a fast one if you acted like it was.