Reading for Th 11/19: Kearns 4.3-4.4 (73-81) ; Kearns 5.2-5.3 (94-99)

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For this Thursday’s class, please read sections 4.3-4.4 (pgs. 73-81) of the Kearns textbook, as well as sections 5.2-5.3 (pgs. 94-99).

(Note:  the syllabus also lists section 4.5 as required reading for Thursday, but I’ve made it optional.  If you have a chance, you should have a look–the topic is interesting, but I’m afraid that the textbook discussion is a bit unclear.  And at any rate, the material won’t figure into our course.)

Reading for Tu 11/17: Kearns 4.1-4.2 (67-72) ; Kearns 5.1 (93-94)

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F0r next Tuesday’s class, please read sections 4.1-4.2 (pgs. 67-72) of the Kearns textbook, as well as section 5.1 (pg. 93-94).  On Tuesday, we’ll see how First-Order Predicate Logic can be extended to translate sentences like “Two professors are vain” and “The professor is vain”.  We’ll also discuss the problem posed by sentences like “Most professors are vain”.

Handout on (First-Order) Predicate Logic

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I’ve put together a handout summarizing the language of (First-Order) Predicate Logic, which we’ve been developing over the past week.  On Tuesday, we’ll finish up with the semantics of quantified formulas, which is also included in the handout.  There’s also quite a bit of discussion about calculating the truth values and truth conditions for formulas in (First-Order) Predicate Logic, so have a look…I think you’ll find it useful!

(Note:  the link now leads to the revised version of the handout, which I also distributed in today’s (Tu, 11/10) class.)

Handout on (First-Order) Predicate Logic

Midterm Answer Key and Grading Scale

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The answer key for the midterm exam is now available. Just as before, I’ve put the answer key in the password-protected “Readings” section of our website. (Remember that the password is listed on the syllabus.)

Here are the numbers that I provided in class today concerning the overall class performance, and a rough grading scale:

Mean score: 47.8 / 60
Median score: 48.75 / 60

A: 52-60 (86.6%-100%)
B: 43-52 (71.6%-86.6%)
C: 34-43 (56.6%-71.6%)
D: below 34 (below 56.6%)
F: N/A

As I said in class, I thought the overall performance was quite good. Just about everyone managed to attempt all parts of the exam, and for each problem, the majority of you saw what was going on. Since we won’t have time in upcoming classes for any more discussion of the midterm problems, be sure to have a look at the key.

Changes to Class Schedule for November/December

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I’ve made a few changes to our class schedule for November and December. Those of you who were in class today (Tuesday) received a printed version of the revised schedule. The “Schedule” section on this website has also been updated to reflect the changes. (There are also a few printed copies of the new schedule by my office door.)

For this week, the most important change is that there is not a homework due this coming Thursday (11/5). Rather, HW7 will be assigned on this Thursday, to be submitted the following Thursday (11/12).

Reading for Th 11/5: excerpt from E. Bach, “Informal Lectures on Formal Semantics”

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For this Thursday’s class, please read the excerpt from Emmon Bach’s Informal Lectures on Formal Semantics. The Bach excerpt provides a concise and clear summary of predicate logic. Much of the material will be recognizable to you after today’s (Tuesday’s) lecture. On Thursday, we will begin discussing variables and quantification, which comes up later in the reading. (It also came up in the Kearns’ reading from last weekend.)

The Bach exerpt is available in the password-protected “Readings” section of the website.