Re: Raatikainen's critique of Chaitin

From: Jussi Piitulainen (jpiitula_at_ling.helsinki.fi)
Date: 09/08/04


Date: 08 Sep 2004 15:19:27 +0300

Jesse F. Hughes writes:
> Robin Chapman writes:
>> No, you denied it; you did not refute it.
>
> Unfortunately for those of us with backgrounds in math and logic, a
> common meaning of "refute" is a synonym for "deny".
[...]
> It's not a usage I like, but it's common enough to be in some
> dictionaries. I don't know if it's just an Americanism.

A modern British dictionary, Collins Cobuild, lists it. It marks both
uses (disprove and deny) as "formal" but not limited to any region.



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