random

[Nick Perkins]

"Alex Martelli" <aleaxit at yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9fcumq0215o at enews2.newsguy.com...

> "Even given (a powerful army) I could not (defeat Napoleon)".
> Do you read this as "having a powerful army IMPLIES I
> cannot defeat Napoleon"?  This doesn't sound right to me.
> Surely it's "NOT (having a powerful army IMPLIES I can
> defeat Napoleon)"?

Funnily enough I have already posted (somehwhere near here),
my exact interpretation of these two statements.

However, I see what you are saying about the word 'Even'.
In english, seems to say that both conditions:
( having a powerful army, and not having one),
imply (not defeat N)

I agree that that is a common english interpretation.
I was taking the statements to be literal logical statements,
and did not interpret the word 'even' as meaning that
there are two implications:

1:  (powerful army) -> (no defeat)
2:  (not powerful army) -> (no defeat)

Of course these two 'cancel out' to simply: (no defeat)

Anyway, I am sure we both understand first order logic.
(It is english that is open to interpretation!)