Readings for Session 5 – (Continued)  

More Terminology for Logic and Sets

How does the word “or” differ in the following two scenarios?

For condiments for your hotdog, you may have mustard or ketchup. What options do you have for your hotdog?

You are tired after a long week and are trying to decide whether to stay home or go out Friday evening. What options do you have for the evening?

        For the first question, you may choose one or both of the condiments, that is, just mustard, or just ketchup, or both mustard and ketchup. For the second question, you cannot do both. You can only stay home or only go out.

        The word “or” in the English language has two meanings depending on the context in which it is used. The first example with the hotdogs uses the inclusive or, which allows the choice of both options; whereas, the second example uses the exclusive or, which requires the choice of exactly one of the options.

        Two different interpretations for the word “or” may cause confusion in finding solutions to problems in mathematics. To overcome this problem, mathematicians interpret the word “or” as an inclusive or.

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