X. Deductive and Hypothetical Thinking through Days of the Week
A businessman had to work late and did not arrive home until early morning for several days, but his wife suspected him of being out with a girlfriend. One early morning he came home and found this note:
The day before yesterday you did not get home until yesterday; yesterday you did not get home until today. If today you do not get home until tomorrow, you will find that I have left yesterday.
The humorous effect of this note comes from the shifts of perspective in time. The last sentence, for example, uses the fact that by tomorrow, today will be yesterday.
The mental activity involved in following descriptions of this sort—comprehending verbal statements of movements along some ...
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