It has been my observation for a long time now, that people do not really listen to what you are saying-something that I take great pains to do, and what is worse, they respond at times with illogical answers.
Many do not really understand the idea of "hypothesis", I would think. I have come across such incidents many times, but to illustrate, I will, as I usually do, take examples from mathematics.
Imagine I asked you: " If 1+1 =11, what is 2+2 ?"
If you are one of those who would say: "But that's not possible, 1+1 =2 !!",
then you are one of those this post is meant for.
First let me explain why I think it is illogical to give the answer stated above.
The key of course , is the word "If ". When put sarcastically, the question means- Please be condescending enough to grant me the status of an intellectual midget, and assuming the truth of the statement that 1+1 =11, try and think the way an idiot like me would to answer what would 2+2 be.
So to me, the answers could be 22, or 222. If you say I do not know, that is quite acceptable too.
It's the answer "But it is not 11 !" that riles me.
For it is clear that they do not understand what the word "If" means in that sentence.
When someone begins a statement with "If ", you are only allowed to think with that as the truth, and not question the veracity of the statement itself.
It is true that at times, the person asking the question may be a total numbskull who is not aware of the truth, but if he starts a question with "If ", please be gracious enough to humour him by thinking likewise.
I have now found a way to make myself clear to these people who do not listen to what you are saying. The solution lies in voice modulation :)
" IFFF , .... If 1+1 =2, THEN what is 2+2 ? " (here bold letters denote full throated yell )
It is a waste of words in the language , if people cannot sense conditional statements even when you make one and a sad situation indeed.
