These four terms encompass all possible permutations in the universe of formal logic. Whatever challenge in your life you are facing right now, if you can read the truths of the situation, you can save time by navigating faster.
I propose two methodologies.
1. “yes, and?”
Anyone with experience in theater has encountered the ideology of “yes, and?” in which acceptance to suggestion is where the magic happens. A standup troupe will ride the coattails of whatever is supposed. No idea, however stupid, can be rejected.
Writing in mathematical notation, I would formalize this approach of responding to reality as such.
In relations terms, we must consider our domain, codomain, and range; as they apply to what we receive in this life, then what we make of it.
domain: the entire set of all possible inputs
codomain: for practical purposes, we don’t collide with this term often because it encompasses the hypothetical of all outputs that the function can generate.
range: the actual outputs which by definition must be a subset of the codomain.
I’m not going to insult your intelligence with a real-life situation here. This cookie cutter process needs to work for every challenge you encounter. So, here’s what I would say:
Assess as many relevant variables as you can.
Think about what is possible given the complete information you have.
You know you want the success to happen regardless. What pieces must be negated and which must be accepted to get the outcome you want?
If you want to prove to yourself that this framework holds water, we need lingo.
Given a predicate p and output q, the truth value of the function is T in all cases.
Here’s an implication that satisfies the truth table precisely.
p ^ ¬p => q
The funny way to interpret this statement is to p or not to p, that is the question.
This instance of a tautology is known as the law of excluded middle.* It captures what we’re trying to say, yet the formula provided needs to generalize to an infinite number of variables. Let’s proceed.
As long as we can produce at least one expression that satisfies, we’re in the clear.
If you are god we can derive this quickly. Bound with and operators, take each
pᵢ sigma from 0 to infinity and evaluate as follows. If T, keep; otherwise negate.
If you know the truth of one variable pᵢ completely, bind a tautology of said pᵢ with an or and the rest of your variables.
If you have no truth information at all, the ugly solution is to make a tautology out of every single variable pᵢ and combine with ands.
Formalities aside, how can we use this mental tool to allow the mentally ill to flourish?
YES AND used judiciously can in fact be used by loved ones to affirm a mental patient in distress. It does not deny from one’s experience. It’s a latent sit with the person experiencing symptoms from the inside. On multiple occasions this weekend I was able to share what was going on in my head. And the best part was how no one was perturbed, disturbed, or ready to report me. We just kept going, with the food and games and chatter. This week was a breakthrough for me. Instead of apologizing, a clever thank you felt sufficient.
Please remember the one terrible use case of YES AND. At the root of schizophrenia is the division of symptoms into positive and negative categories. Positive versus negative: excess versus a lack of function. You could argue that positive symptoms of schizophrenia are a twisted trick of the mind which the mindset YES AND can also manifest as. Hallucinations and distortions are “running away with an idea” to the extreme, and not something you can express safely to people on the outside.
* the other common example that produces the same truth table is ¬¬p IFF p. Also, see negation of conjunction. Postmarked Aug 30, 2024.
Let’s think of other frameworks offered by mental health professionals.
2. “so what?”
This is how I would explain DBT, or dialectical behavior therapy.
SO WHAT is a method of internal dialogue, self regulation, or visceral contradiction.
The logic for this methodology can be expressed in a few characters. p => q
If you have already exhausted all means you know in pursuit of something, you can conclude that the infrastructure of your life experience and the perception in this moment is incomplete.
All this to say, is the divine short or long-term?