Thursday, June 5, 2014

My Five-Year-Old Son, Ambiguous Reference, and a Riddle

On the way home from swimming lessons just now:

Sam: Daddy, this is a riddle...
Me: "THIS" is not a riddle.
Sam: No, Daddy.  This is a riddle...
Me: "This" is NOT a riddle!
Sam: Daddy, STOP!  I am GOING TO tell you a riddle.
Me: What is it?
Sam: I am red...
Me: That's not true.  You are not red!
Sam: No, this is a riddle!
Me: I thought we had established that "THIS" is not a riddle?
Sam: No, I am going to tell you a riddle. Here's the riddle: I am red and I am shaped like a brick.  What is it?
Me: How about a red brick?
Sam: No, that's not it.
Me: But a red brick is red and shaped like a brick.
Sam: No, that's not it.  Do you want to know what it is?
Me: Yes.  What is it?
Sam: It's this thing on my shoe. It's red and shaped like a brick.

2 comments:

  1. John Mill & John Stuart Mill...R.M. Hare & John Hare...P.F. Strawson & Galen Strawson...Tully Borland &...Samuel Borland?!?!?!

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  2. Tully Borland & Malea Borland & Samuel Borland :)

    ReplyDelete