对两个或更多的事物根据定义进行描述时,不可能同时成立。
"If it is X, then it cannot be Y, and if it is Y, then it cannot be X" means "X and Y are mutually exclusive."
“如果某物是X,那么它不能是Y;如果是Y,那么它不能是X”,这就意味着“X和Y是互斥的”。
例如,如果大多数参与者都说“是”,那么并非所有的参与者都说“是”。 "Most," “大多数”,根据定义,意思是"far more than not, but not all" “远远超过‘没有’,但并不是‘全部’”,而"all" “全部”是指"without even one exception." “没有一个例外”。即使"most" “大多数”和"all" “全部”都意味着数量"a lot," “很多”,但是对于同一件事情,它们不可能同时成立。
If something is an even number, then it is by definition not an odd number.
如果一个数是偶数,那么根据定义,它不会是奇数。
If an animal is a cat, then it is by definition not a dog or mouse or snake.
如果一只动物是猫,那么根据定义,它不会是一只狗,也不会是老鼠或蛇。
"In Western culture, most religions are mutually exclusive. If you are a Muslim, you not a Jew. If you are an Baptist Christian, then you are not a Catholic Christian. It is hard for many Westerners to understand that there are people in Japan who practice both Shintoism and Buddhism at the same time and that this is thoroughly normal."
“在西方文化中,大多数宗教是互相排斥的。如果你是穆斯林,你就不会是一个犹太人。如果你是一个浸信会基督徒,那么你就不会是一个天主教基督徒。很多西方人很难理解,为什么在日本有些人能同时信奉道教和佛教。但这在当地却是完全正常的。”
(查看原文:http://www.letpub.com/index.php?page=author_education_mutually_exclusive)