UncleBeer wrote
Ed Zotti once told me to eat shit; Does that get me any sort of consolation prize? (In fairness, he followed it up in a later post with “I was just kidding! It was an affectionate vulgarity, no offense intended!”)
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=2384#post29387
Those are the very same words told to Coldfire by Cecil. I rest my case.
#1 is an assumption based of Ed’s words, not a tautology (unless you believe what everyone tells you :p).
Besides, what if Cecil Adams is really a team of people but primarily Ed? (Like say Ed does writing and research and others assist him with research.) Then Ed could technically say that “he” is not Cecil because the implication of the question, is Ed Cecil?, is that “he” and “he alone” is Cecil. And if Cecil is a composition of people then Ed could technically deny that question and be telling the truth.
Logician, poopoobuttworms
Well, when someone comes by your website, it’s only polite to offer a small snack of something.
Nope. All I’m doing is reciting a simple, undeniable fact. Ed has said that he isn’t Cecil. Can’t deny it and takes no assumptions whatsoever. He has said it.
**
You forget Given #2: Cecil never lies. If (blasphemy) Cecil weren’t an individual, then how could he be the smartest man alive? He doesn’t say he’s the smartest men alive. And besides, how do you explain Mrs. Adams if he’s a composite? Besides he speaks in first person if he were a composite, that would be deceptive. We can lump deceptiveness in with #2: Cecil never lies.
Nope. Ed ain’t Cecil.
Once again the heretics and unbelievers blasphemy falls before the shining light of truth.
Fenris
(Hey Cecil! Any chance of a “Hello” to bolster my spirits as I try to enlighten and reason with the heretical millions?)
So the fact that it is a fact that he made the statement doesn’t make it true. Implementing that as a basis for your logic taints it because it is not a proven tautology (always true). You are making an assumption that you cannot make to prove anything in definance–that he is being truthful–henceforth your logic is not encompassing all alternative practical possibilities and your hypothis is voided. I’m not saying Ed is a liar or anything…
[sub]Well I wouldn’t trust him with my new Popeil Pasta machine, but that’s another story…[/sub]
Who’s to say Cecil never lies, is he the Pope or something? 
You didn’t actually read my post, did you? C’mon you can tell me.
The first section (Givens #1 and #2) are facts. Cecil never lies. Ed said the words “I am not Cecil”. I didn’t accept as a given that the statement was true or false. My only given was that he said the words. The second half, the part you seem to have missed, examines what happens if the statement by Ed (“I am not Cecil”) is true or false.
Fenris
I believe that Cecil is Cecil and Ed is Ed. Your assumptions are made in vain on this message board. You cannot convince me otherwise.
It’s very simple, y’all.
If Cecil Adams and Ed Zotti were the same person, TubaDiva would’ve banned his sorry ass by now.
As I posted before, it depends upon what hat Ed is wearing. When he’s wearing his own, he’s a fallible human as the rest of us are, and can tell an occasional white lie. What person hasn’t? However, when he’s wearing the hat of Cecil, he becomes God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and always truthful.
A point I’ve refrained from making before, waiting for some more ridicule from Tuba, is that in responses to my first two posts, she resorted to name calling, insults, and ridicule, not only to me but to the author who pointed out Cecil’s true identity (“a putz”), which, BTW, could leave her open to libel - but that’s another matter. Instead of cogently and logically refuting my claims, or even uncogently and illogically attempting to refute them, she tried to debase me as an individual and did not try to refute my statements.
Geesh, what’s your problem? You’ve been on the boards for a while now, close to 2,000 posts and you wanna fanigle over this stupid point? Count your blessings, if I had control of the BANNED buttom you woulda been out of here yesterday.
Cecil Adams is akin to the Dread Pirate Roberts.
There was one, there was many, but there is only one.
My .02cents, you are all wrong and it is CK Dex
Booya!
What, no one thinks that I’m Cecil Adams? I’m so disappointed.
Some of us knew you when you were still a person, John!
What’s your problem? “Finagle” is not the right word and you also misspelled it.
You don’t really understand how to use logic properly do you?
Both your givens must be true without a shadow of a doubt for your conclusion to be valid in this case, otherwise what you are trying to say has zero meaning.
You can’t prove your so called “facts” are essentially true, therefore your conclusion is worthless.
poopoobuttworms (I would like to say that I enjoyed typing in your username, but I can’t. How about asking Tubadiva to change your username to Iris or Gladiola?), I must forcefully disagree with your assertion that Fenris’ conclusion is worthless. If one creates a “truth scale” assigning the value of zero to an obviously false statement such as 1 + 1 = 3, and the value of 1 to an obviously true statement such as 2 + 5 = 7, then I would give Fenris at least a 0.64.
I think you should revise your estimate to bring it more in line with commonly accepted measures for gauging the validity of scientific proof.
I know what I am asking for in the SDMB Secret Santa gift exchange.
And it ain’t Ed’s hat.
I once told one of my teachers to eat shit.
I must be Cecil.
Why am I always the last to know?
If I’m Cecil, then barbitu8, EAT SHIT!
You’re not Cecil, and not being Cecil, or an administrator, or a moderator, if you want to insult me, swear at me, or otherwise express your anger over something I’ve done (other than trying to fight ignorance), take it to the Pit.