methodist musings

i found this entry on an old blog i had written…and thought is was funny enough to write again…

What is X?
Wrigely had a seizure yesterday, thus a trip to the vet was in order. A lifetime prescription of heart meds and Vitamin B ensues. Over dinner tonight I mentioned that Wrigley had gained two pounds…who knew the route the conversation would take:

M:”What did he weigh before?”
R:”X”.
M:”So what does he weight now?”
R:”x+2″.

M:”Ok, but what is that equal to?”
R:”Y”.
M:”So you don’t know?”
R:”No, the answer is null set. You can take x+2=y and subtract two, but then all you get is x=y-2, so you really don’t get an answer”.
M:”So you could also say that (x+2)-2=y”.
R: “That’s true; you could also say that (x+2)/y=1″
M”Yeah you could, then you could also say that (x+2)/(x+2)=1 by the law of substitution”.
R:”True, but no matter how many times you convert the variables, without a given value for x or y, you can’t ever solve the equation, thus, the answer is null set”.

In other words, I don’t know how much the dog weighed then, nor do I know now. All I know is that he gained two pounds