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From: uunet!vicorp!judy@ncar.ucar.EDU (Judy Hawkins)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Who is on this newsgroup?
Message-ID: <1990Aug8.121700.5701@vicorp.com>
Date: 8 Aug 90 22:40:46 GMT
References: <1990Jul30.160819.1101@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> <4949.26b7a175@vax5.cit.cornell.edu> <90215.162500ROPERK@QUCDN.BITNET>
Reply-To: Judy Hawkins <uunet!vicorp!sunra!judy@ncar.ucar.EDU>
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In article <90215.162500ROPERK@QUCDN.BITNET> ROPERK%QUCDN.QueensU.CA@EVANS.UCAR.EDU writes:
>
>    For the record: It is true that "equality" is not an applicable
>       term in this argument...
>   "Equal"
>       means "exactly the same as".
>
>    The word you are looking for (and evidently have not found) is
>       "equivalent", which means "functionally the same as".
>       For most purposes, men and women are _equivalent_.
>
>     For more information, consult a math text dealing with
>       equivalence classes and/or modular arithmetic.
>
But these are the mathematical definitions.

In terms of human relations, equal is generally used to mean equal in basic
rights. I'm quite sure I'm not your equal in chemistry but I know I'm your
equal as far as human rights go, and typically in a discussion of human
relations that's what equal is shorthand for. Context, context, context.

>
>-------
>Kim Roper
>Dept of Chem Eng, Queen's University
>(Formerly a resident of the Math and Eng Dept.)
>
>Bitnet/Netnorth: roperk@qucdn.queensu.ca

Judy Hawkins
judy@vicorp.com