>>>>Sorry, I meant "CONGRUENCE" (years since I did that stuff!) :-)
>>>
>>>Much better:
http://www.answers.com/topic/similarity-mathematics>>
>>Yes, Congruent - congruence, congruous - congruity. Not being a mathmatician I was not aware of the semantic nicety of my choice of example. The essence was that in English "similar" can mean "the same" or "like", and I don't like that ambiguity.
>>
>>Q - "Look at these two vases. Would you say they're similar?"
>>
>>A1a - "No. That one's got yellow flowers while the other's got orange" (thinks they're not exactly the same)
>>
>>A2b - "Yes" (happy that they're practically the same - size, shape, but allows that the pix are slightly different)
>
>Similar does not mean the same.
In MY vocabulary they aren't either. I refer you to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/similaresp. defo. 2
2 : alike in substance or essentials : CORRESPONDING "no two animal habitats are exactly similar" -- W. H. Dowdeswell
So the example can only mean "no two animal habitats are exactly a bit like each other" ????
- Whoever said that women are the weaker sex never tried to wrest the bedclothes off one in the middle of the night
- Worry is the interest you pay, in advance, for a loan that you may never need to take out.
