“Or” considered harmful.
On the weekend we decided that "or" (as used in the english language) is ambiguous and leads to confusion. We decided that instead we should use three terms:
- "andor" (to mean "are any of these true?")
- "xor" or "either-or" or "exclusive-or" (to mean "are only one of these true?")
- "ewok" (to mean "which of these are true?")
Some examples:
- Is it wet outside ewok is it fine? ("it's wet outside"), Is it wet outside andor is it fine ("yes"), Is it wet outside xor is it fine ("yes").
- Am I mad ewok have small furry animals invaded this conversation? ("You are both mad, and small furry animals have invaded this conversation"), Am I mad andor have small furry animals invaded this conversation? ("Yes"), Am I mad xor have small furry animals invaded this conversation? ("No" both are true).
- Would you like green eggs and ham on a plane ewok on a train? ("Mu" — I don't want green eggs on either). Would you like green eggs and ham on a plane andor on a train? ("No"), Would you like green eggs and ham on a plain xor on a train? ("No").
- Should this be blue ewok green ewok red? ("Green"), Should this be blue andor green andor red ("yes"), Should this be blue xor green xor red ("Yes").
so, in closing, I Think we should stop using "or" in every day conversation and instead use "andor", "xor" and "ewok" instead to be more precise about what question we're asking.