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Classic Fallacies -- Every Natural Number can be Unambiguously Described in Fourteen Words or Less

math.toronto.edu · 424 words · saved by 1 readers

You know this can't be true. After all, there are only finitely many words in the English language, so there are only finitely many sentences that can be built using fourteen words or less.

Navigation Panel: Go backward to A Ladder Will Fall Infinitely Fast when Pulled Go up to Classic Fallacies index Go down to first subsection A Discussion of the Fallacy Switch to text-only version (no graphics) Go to University of Toronto Mathematics Network Home Page The claim is that any natural number can be completely and unambiguously identified in fourteen words or less. Here a "word" means an ordinary English word, such as you might find in a dictionary. You know this can't be true. After all, there are only finitely many words in the English language, so there are only finitely…

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