3 ms·

> That's not what an exception proving a rule means. It has a technical meaning: a sign that says "free parking on sundays" implies parking is not free as a rul

> That's not what an exception proving a rule means. It has a technical meaning: a sign that says "free parking on sundays" implies parking is not free as a rule. So the rule is "Free parking on Sundays", and the exception that proves it is "Free parking on Sundays"? That's a post-hoc (circular) argument that does not convince me at all. I read a different explanation of this phrase on HN recently: the "prove" in "exception proves the rule" has the same meaning as the "prove" (or "proof") in "50% proof alcohol". AIUI, in this context "proof" means "tests". The exception that tests the rule simply shows where the limits of the rules actually are. Well, that's how I understood it, anyway. Made sense to me at the time I read the explanation, but I'm open to being convinced otherwise with sufficiently persuasive logic :-)

seaal 2y ago
50% proof alcohol? That isn’t how that works. It’s 50% ABV aka 100 proof.
- lelanthran 2y ago
  > 50% proof alcohol? That isn’t how that works. It’s 50% ABV aka 100 proof. 50% proof wouldn't be 25% ABV?
  - oofabz 2y ago
    Since 50% = 0.5, and proof doesn't take a percentage, I believe "50% proof" would be 0.25% ABV.
    - lelanthran 2y ago
      Good catch :-)
taejo 2y ago
The rule is non-free parking. The exception is Sundays.
lucianbr 2y ago
The meaning of a word or expression is not a matter of persuasive logic. It just means what people think it means. (Otherwise using it would not work to communicate.) That is why a dictionary is not a collection of theorems. Can you provide a persuasive logic for the meaning of the word "yes"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule Seems like both interpretations are used widely.
tsimionescu 2y ago
The origin of the phrase is the aphorism that "all rules have an exception". So, when someone claims something is a rule and you find an exception, that's just the exception that proves it's a real rule. It's a joke, essentially, based on the common-sense meaning of the word "rule" (which is much less strict than the mathematical word "rule").

seaal 2y ago

50% proof alcohol? That isn’t how that works. It’s 50% ABV aka 100 proof.

lelanthran 2y ago
> 50% proof alcohol? That isn’t how that works. It’s 50% ABV aka 100 proof. 50% proof wouldn't be 25% ABV?
- oofabz 2y ago
  Since 50% = 0.5, and proof doesn't take a percentage, I believe "50% proof" would be 0.25% ABV.
  - lelanthran 2y ago
    Good catch :-)

taejo 2y ago

The rule is non-free parking. The exception is Sundays.

lucianbr 2y ago

The meaning of a word or expression is not a matter of persuasive logic. It just means what people think it means. (Otherwise using it would not work to communicate.) That is why a dictionary is not a collection of theorems. Can you provide a persuasive logic for the meaning of the word "yes"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule Seems like both interpretations are used widely.

tsimionescu 2y ago

The origin of the phrase is the aphorism that "all rules have an exception". So, when someone claims something is a rule and you find an exception, that's just the exception that proves it's a real rule. It's a joke, essentially, based on the common-sense meaning of the word "rule" (which is much less strict than the mathematical word "rule").