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Almost too simple to be true A tautology in logic, or rather warped logic, refers to a proposition that is either true by definition, or... More on tautology (continued from last week). A tautology in logic, or rather warped logic, refers to a proposition that is either true by definition, or is necessarily true (which makes its statement redundant). William Tsamis, in a glossary of philosophical terms, explains: "For instance, 'All triangles have three sides' is an inherently true proposition, but it doesn't tell us anything new". Tsamis hence calls it "a nonsensical statement". In a journalistic example, reporters are advised against quoting officials when they tell the truth, that is, when the "truth" they tell is so true as to be meaningless. If a government minister says, for example, "Beijing is the capital city of China", he's obviously speaking with a clear conscience and making a heart-felt confession without trying to hide anything (pertaining to that fact) from you. But don't put that remark in between quotation marks and attribute it to him. At a risk of sounding tautological myself, let me repeat. Do not write: "Beijing is the capital city of China, says the minister". A sentence like that makes both of you look silly. Quote the minister instead on something original. That's not possible, you say? Well, I understand how rare it is to hear anything original from government officials these days. Still, it's no excuse for putting platitudes like that in between the quote marks. | 
