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Comment by sarchertech

3 years ago

Imagine there’s a military bombing range full of unexploded ordinance. The sign outside the range simply says “Keep off the grass”.

In the situation where context is different than what a reasonable person would expect, it has to be included. Language changes meaning depending on context.

The point is that language is unavoidably ambiguous (I'm sure there's a mathematical information theory proof of this, akin to the Byzantine Generals problem.).

  • "DANGER!! Unexploded ordinance! High risk of death!" is far less ambiguous than "Keep off grass". The former is sufficiently unambiguous that it will deter any sane person from entering.