Re:Is zero an even number?
by anonymouz on Sunday December 02, 2012 @03:56PM
(#4862474)
Without further clarifications it is at best ambiguous in English: Sometimes the "or" is meant to allow both options, sometimes not.
When mathematicians talk in English they usually (by convention) mean the "or" of first order logic (i.e., inclusive or). Since they happen to be the ones talking about even/odd numbers and they are a group of people that do require a language specific enough to have to specify whether the "or" is inclusive or exclusive, it seems like a good idea that such a statement should be taken in this framework.
When mathematicians talk in English they usually (by convention) mean the "or" of first order logic (i.e., inclusive or). Since they happen to be the ones talking about even/odd numbers and they are a group of people that do require a language specific enough to have to specify whether the "or" is inclusive or exclusive, it seems like a good idea that such a statement should be taken in this framework.