More than two choices

Many people think of actions as having two choices, "do it" or "do not do it" - a logical fallacy called "false dilemma". There is a third action that is at the heart of computer science.

1. "look and do"
2. "look not do"
3. "do not look" - it may not be necessary and, in general, "does not matter".

Efficient algorithms in computer science rely on knowing when to look and when not to look.
Good logical arguments do not include anything not relevant (needed) for the logical argument.
Doing nothing is something and can be important.

[Apostle John, professionals]

More: False dilemma fallacy: excluded middle

More: Nothing is something


less than greater than	not less than not greater than

Not everything has just two choices. Sometimes there is a middle value (three choices) that can be claimed or denied by either side (or both).
Aristotle describes how deceivers (Sophists, etc.) use the "gray" area between "light" and "darkness" to confuse (in various ways).

More: Aristotle

There is no such thing as darkness; only a failure to see. Malcolm Muggeridge (British broadcaster)

More: Malcolm Muggeridge

A program that requests a user response to a question. Very often, the valid responses are yes, no, and escape (or cancel, etc.), gracefully avoid the question.

More: Two-valued logic: Operators

To determine the probability that an event happens, one needs to know the sample space.

The sample space consists of all the possible outcomes of an event. The sample space should be

"collectively exhaustive" (contain all possibilities) and be
"mutually exclusive" (no overlap of outcomes).

What is the "sample space" (possible outcomes) for a coin flip?

More: Sample space for a coin flip

What if the coin rolls off the table?
What if the coin disappears?
What if something else happens?

The value "bottom" or "⊥" is used to indicate these other possibilities.

In many programming languages, the empty string is "". However, the Null value can be used to indicate "bottom" or "no value".

In Python, the bottom value is None.
In SQL, NULL is the bottom value
In JavaScript, undefined is the bottom value

More: Sample space for a coin flip

Some strange conclusions result when one assumes two values instead of three values.

... more to be added ...

What does it mean to have a clean heart? What does it mean to have an unclean heart? Are they opposites?

What is the difference between being empty and clean and pure and dry compared to being full of dirty water and dead?
Would you rather be full of living water and wet? How many choices are there?

It appears that there are (at least) three choices.

The OT (Old Testament) has many verses on clean and unclean. Here, we are interested in how Jesus uses the word in Matthew.

[Monty Hall problem]

More: The heart problem of clean and unclean

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. [kjv]

οιδα σου τα εργα οτι ουτε ψυχρος ει ουτε ζεστος οφελον ψυχρος ειης ης η ζεστος [gnt]

3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. [kjv]

ουτως οτι χλιαρος ει και ουτε ψυχρος ουτε ζεστος ουτε ψυχρος μελλω σε εμεσαι εκ του στοματος μου [gnt]

Jesus would prefer that the church be either "hot" or "cold" rather than "lukewarm" (neither "hot" nor "cold", shown as "?"). Are both "hot" and "cold" good? This can be literally true as in hot/cold tea, coffee, etc.

"ζεστός" ≈ "seethed, boiled, hot" and is the source of the English word "zesty".
"ψυχρός" ≈ "cold, frigid, cold-hearted, lifeless, ineffectual"
"χλιαρός" ≈ "lukewarm, tepid" from "χλιαίνω" ≈ "to warm, warm up, grow warm".

Is there a pattern to how "hot" and "cold" are used in the Bible as far as being "good", "bad", etc.?

More: Revelation 3:15-16 Zesty hot and frigid cold

The model is a 2D model and can be thought of as in base 3 rather than base 2.

Base 2 has two choices such as a rectangular table of rows and columns.
Base 3 has three choices as in a triangle with symmetry considerations.

Here, the tetractys is used. By allowing only transitions between directly adjacent nodes, jumps of several items in the linear model appear much more natural and not out-of-place.

More: Exodus 20:3-17 TenWordPin model