Helen Chick
Commutativity is a pretty important concept in mathematics. Addition is commutative, because, for example, it doesn’t matter which way around you add two numbers: 6+3 is just the same as 3+6. Multiplication is commutative too, since 5 x 4 = 4 x 5 (indeed, a x b = b x a, no matter the values of a and b). Subtraction, on the other hand, is non-commutative. To see this, consider 4 – 3 and 3 – 4. You don’t get the same answer from both expressions. Division has similar problems: 6 ÷ 3, for example, is not the same as 3 ÷ 6.
So, order matters.
Of course, after I’d had my pedant’s smirk about the impossibility of removing all valuables after locking your vehicle, I realised that the “and” in the middle doesn’t absolutely necessarily imply an order, only that both need to be done, and so I was hoist by my own Boolean logic pedantic petard and forced to wipe the self-righteous, supercilious smirk from my face.
At least there’s a missing apostrophe about which to get pedantic.
[Final sentence edited from “At least there’s a missing apostrophe to get pedantic about.”]
Ha! I love it.
While we’re being pedantic, doesn’t that final sentence have a superfluous ‘to’ in it :-)?
Not to mention the lack of full stops. I think you were right the first time, it makes more sense to remove BEFORE locking, the actions should be in order. Is it only women of a certain age (i.e. grumpy + old) that care about this kind of thing? ‘This door is alarmed’ is another one that makes me cross – I want to go over and write underneath – ‘it’s also feeling a bit anxious’. Grrrr.
Matthew: Not any more!! (Ooops. It is clear that I didn’t edit it well enough! I like being able to rewrite history! The trouble with writing uber-pedantic critiques is that you have to be so careful not to set yourself up for a very embarrassing fall. And, since I am, in fact, inclined to split infinitives, lose track of monster sentences, and have my typing fingers trip over each other, the risk is rather high.)
I agree. Remove valuables AND lock. Continue smirking.
Scons or skones? What will it be?
With or without apostrophe?
“White Ladies Nights” and “Black Mens Tops”
Shout at us from racks in shops;
But how it makes the pedants happy
To find such language loose and scrappy!