8 Russell's Conjugation and Wittgenstein's Ruler

Latin 101 begins with the first conjugation: amō, amās, amat: I love, you love, she/he loves. The form of the verb changes depending on who is the subject of the sentence, but its meaning is the same. In a wry twist on the concept of conjugation, the philosopher Bertrand Russell drew attention to our tendency to word things rather differently depending on who is the subject of the sentence. Here is his "irregular verb" pattern: I am firm, you are obstinate, he is a pig-headed fool.