What's the opposite of one?

[redbaron]

Well?

 

[TimeAsylums]

the non-lonliest number

 

[Dormouse]

I like this question! It's devious, though. We're not mathematical creatures, or we wouldn't be so fixed around the first three integers. It's not possible to break away from a very human perspective of counting.

A} Opposite of one is many - 1 is the the complete and uniform. Many is shattering, it's difference and variety.

B| Opposite of one is nothing - 1 implies existence, 0/null/nothing implies non-existence. Presence vs. absence.

C} Opposite of one is infinity - The smallest and the largest. Condensed, dispersed. Easily grasped or unfathomable.

D| Opposite of one is two - This is the most blatantly human-in-3-dimensions interpretation, I think. It is somehow attractive. 1 is unity, 2 is polarity. Cohesion vs. conflict.

E} Opposite of one is negative one - We see 1 as addition and -1 as subtraction.

F| Opposite of 1 is any irregular number, some fraction that spirals to infinite senselessly. 1 represents understanding things as whole and defined, this pits it against unclear boundaries and divisions.

G} Opposite of one is green. Let's make this about quantitative and qualitative data.

 

[Words]

If 1 represents presence and 0 represents absence, what does -1 represent? A presumed presence but an actual absence?

B| Opposite of one is nothing - 1 implies existence, 0/null/nothing implies non-existence. Presence vs. absence.

But 2, 3, 4...also implies existence.

C} Opposite of one is infinity - The smallest and the largest. Condensed, dispersed. Easily grasped or unfathomable.

I get "easily grasped" but smallest? what about .000000...1?

D| Opposite of one is two - This is the most blatantly human-in-3-dimensions interpretation, I think. It is somehow attractive. 1 is unity, 2 is polarity. Cohesion vs. conflict.

Ooh, interesting. I like to think of the relationship between 1 and 2 as Objective and Subjective. 1 exists on its own empirically(the universe). 2 and everything else requires a subject.

The opposite of 1 is humans. [or human constructs or the constructs of any sentient life form capable of counting.]

 

[PhoenixRising]

Perhaps.. the opposite of 1 is i. Since 1 is a real number, and i imaginary o.o

 

[Dormouse]

If 1 represents presence and 0 represents absence, what does -1 represent? A presumed presence but an actual absence?

I'm not sure what it would be in that context - It's easier to imagine a system of actions instead of quantities, where 0 is baseline, 1 is addition and -1 is subtraction. It's a debt more than just an absence, anyways.

But 2, 3, 4...also implies existence.

Yeah... 1 is the purest, though, and every other number integer is just a bunch of ones. It's atomic.

I get "easily grasped" but smallest? what about .000000...1?

I was working on the assumption that we mainly understand quantities as integers, one in this case being an undefined unit, just the smallest number of thing.

Ooh, interesting. I like to think of the relationship between 1 and 2 as Objective and Subjective. 1 exists on its own empirically(the universe). 2 and everything else requires a subject.

The opposite of 1 is humans. [or human constructs or the constructs of any sentient life form capable of counting.]

Cool! Was also thinking, in terms of counting and order,

H| Opposite of 1 is ____ - 1 is the first of a sequence, the alpha. It's opposite is the end, omega, the terminus.

 

[pjoa09]

-sqrt(!40958309458295709346.8932840958309850340953)

 

[redbaron]

Personally, I find the most consistent answer to be -1.

The reasoning being that in general terms, opposites usually combine and create a neutral result. Acid and alkaline, hot and cold, slow and fast, north and south magnetism (held together by mutual attraction, which could be seen as a state of, "neutrality"). In the same way, the sum of -1 and 1 is 0 - numerically neutral in the same way that an acid and an alkaline with create pH neutrality, or hot and cold will stop at a point in between the two when provided in perfectly oppositional values.

Obviously there's exceptions to this rule, and other ways to define a functionally opposite to the number one. Personally though I found this definition to be the most mathematically consistent and well, pleasing.

Of course, it rests upon one's acceptance of viewing the question through numerical axioms. So feel free to contradict or speculate further. Some interesting points so far I think.

 

[Hawkeye]

The true opposite of the number 1 is - 1.

 

[Base groove]

What if you multiply them?

 

[Hawkeye]

What if you multiply them?

Well, you get -1. Also, -1 x -1 = 1.

However, with numbers, opposite refers to a number that is equidistant from zero, only on the other side of the number line.

-2 is the opposite of 2.

 

[Brontosaurie]

i'm inclined to say all

but then as we know, all is one...

let's go with "every"

...?

 

[Cherry Cola]

one for everyone

everybody gets one?

 

[Aerl]

Undefined "0".

Well that is, a problem.

In any case. if I define "0" as "light is off', "one" as "1" and in turn "light is on",
than "0" is opposite to "1" and "one". On the basis that we define "light is on" and
"light is off" as opposite.

True answer lies in a post that will "never" be posted. Or an answer with which
"nothing" will come up with.

p.s. I don't like "1" and "0", and all their names.

 

[Duxwing]

The opposite of one is opposite 1: -1.

-Duxwing

 

[Thurlor]

Not sure why people are making things so difficult. Woo-woo in maths is just hilarious.

Anyway as has already been pointed out the opposite of 1 is -1.

 

[nexion]

What's the opposite of 0, or 3.5, or 1/3, or any other number that exists in the real number line? There is no 'general' answer, it all depends on how you define it. It's a ridiculous and meaningless question without any context.

 

[Brontosaurie]

now i may sound very stupid but who cares here goes:

isn't +1 the opposite of -1? the former is addition of one, the latter is subtraction of one. who cares how conventional maths formalizes it? one itself is neither of them, intuitively. one is something that "+1" and "-1" both invoke. position and negation. 1 is only the quantity, and neither of the operations denoted by the numbers "(+)1" and "-1" respectively is more "1" than the other. what is the opposite of this quantity, one? does it have an opposite? it sure is a very special quantity with very special properties.

 

[Cherry Cola]

For there he wonder ever how, over more and but for; he shall not never know hence ever that opposed to one stands none and all; all to none, all at once, suddenly comic sans

 

[Hawkeye]

What's the opposite of 0, or 3.5, or 1/3, or any other number that exists in the real number line? There is no 'general' answer, it all depends on how you define it. It's a ridiculous and meaningless question without any context.

The opposite of a number is defined as how I stated it.

Therefore:

-0 (it's its own opposite)

-3.5

-1/3



Using 1 as an on state and 0 as an off state does not make 0 the opposite of 1.

I could use 57 as the on state and 84,520 as the off state. They are merely opposite states, not numbers.

 

[Absurdity]

A flux of the infinitely potential.

 

[Grayman]

Well?

This is an invalid question without reference to which 1 you speak of.

In Boolean it is 'false'.

 

[Imaginary Numb3r]

Perhaps.. the opposite of 1 is i. Since 1 is a real number, and i imaginary o.o

But I am one person

@Topic

Since one is a number, it depends on the mathematical system.
Boolean opposite: 0
Hexadecimal: 14 (since one is the second number after zero and 15 is the second last before 15)

Edit: Aaaw, too late. Overlooked Grayman's post.

 

[nexion]

The opposite of a number is defined as how I stated it.

Therefore:

-0 (it's its own opposite)

-3.5

-1/3



Using 1 as an on state and 0 as an off state does not make 0 the opposite of 1.

I could use 57 as the on state and 84,520 as the off state. They are merely opposite states, not numbers.

I can understand this well enough, but in that case I would like to pick at word choice a bit and say that 'negation' is a much better and more exact word than 'opposite'.

Hexadecimal: 14 (since one is the second number after zero and 15 is the second last before 15)

(Technically it'd be E in hexadecimal, 14 is the decimal equivalent of that hex number)

 

[deadpixel]

Well, in Algebra class this meant -1, At least at the school I went to.
Also, it meant the opposite of -1 is 1.

 

[Aerl]

What's the opposite of 0, or 3.5, or 1/3, or any other number that exists in the real number line? There is no 'general' answer, it all depends on how you define it. It's a ridiculous and meaningless question without any context.

Agreed.

Spoiler

I seem to notice that most responses understand "one" as a "number:
one" for which "1" is a symbol. A diferent look proposes that opposite of "one"
could be "eno", and there is countless other options. In general asking
"What's the opposite of one?" implies:

What is "one" and what is "opposite" of "What is one?". In more simple terms: What is the definition of definition?

I can't answer this question, my reasoning suggests that, that it is impossible
and something that is impossible is meaningless in real world, therefore the
question is meaningless and has no asnwer that suits it in the real world, but it
is of interest to metaphysics because it asks about something that is beyond
physical world, I believe. At 1st look metaphysics appear to be meaningless, but because of metaphysics, we can define the question
"What is ____?" as meaningless and that is correct, even though it
doesn't answer it.

This is as far as I could get to understanding it up to now.

What is "7" of "House"?

edit: I noticed that "What is" actually appears to be a signal to "define"
and if so, the question becomes a "problem"-"Define definition of
definition". 1st two counterparts can be interpreted as "meaningless",
what we are asked to do is "Define "meaningless". The context is also there, this is meaningless in realation to a problem, becaused we where
asked to define the question, questioning itself.

My answer: The problem is imposible to solve...

This is the correct answer, but it is as ridiculous as the question... further thinking required.

I don't think this was anywhere near your intention...
I also hope my thinking is flawed... because we could rephrase it as:
"What is, what is of what is?". This is no less ridiculous than "What is, what
is?".

Someone tell me I'm ignorant, idiot, a fool,... and am wrong and where...

 

[Hawkeye]

Red Baron gave the context. One is being treated as a number.

Sometimes people don't half over-analyse.

I can understand this well enough, but in that case I would like to pick at word choice a bit and say that 'negation' is a much better and more exact word than 'opposite'.

Negation means the same thing as opposite here: It's a synonym.

Off = -On (negative on)

The opposite of off is -off (A.K.A. on)

 

[Brontosaurie]

negation is of course the opposite of position, and so the negation of one is opposite to the position of one. but there is such a thing as one, the simple quantity, with no mention of numerical polarity. you wouldn't say the opposite of house is the removal of house, would you? that undermines the concept of opposite, since it presupposes one as the norm rather than letting them define each other. true opposites may be found in dichotomies like male-female, large-small, narrow-wide, etc.

my top contender for opposite to one in a meaningful, non-trivial sense is either "every" or "several".

 

[Hawkeye]

What is the opposite of a house? ^^

 

[Brontosaurie]

i don't know. that's a tough one.

 

[Base groove]

A MOUSE!

 

[Cherry Cola]

It must be an oven or a washing machine because you can't live in those but you can die in them.

 

[Grayman]

What is the opposite of a house? ^^

Prison

 

[Hawkeye]

Prison

Interesting.

Apparently, office is an antonym of house. Some say a hotel could qualify as an opposite of a house.


What is the opposite of a potato?

 

[Grayman]

Interesting.

Apparently, office is an antonym of house. Some say a hotel could qualify as an opposite of a house.


What is the opposite of a potato?

an otatop?

The 'shoot system' of the plant

 

[BigApplePi]

The opposite of one? How opposing does one want to get? One can represent a unity. If numbers, one is the only number when multiplied by another number gives that number in return: One times anything equals the anything. In this sense any other number than one is the opposite.

But that works only if you feel like multiplying. If you feel like swinging around zero ... well some have already said they feel that way.

 

[Aerl]

edit: @redbaron, props for posing this question.
______________________________________

@Hawkeye
THANK YOU, you gave me insight on what my answer ment. It's the possibility of
learning.

Bring up two diferent things (definitions if you may) and define how they interact with each other. This is interesting...... we should ask more meaningless questions to learn, is that the moral?

Meaningless appears to be meaningful... errr...

Spoiler

I'm not sure if this is a correct way to form a question but:

What is "meaningless" of "meaningful"?

 

[BigApplePi]

What is the opposite of a potato?

The hole in the ground left when you remove the potato? Be careful to remove the potato carefully to achieve this effect.

 

[Aerl]

The hole in the ground left when you remove the potato? Be careful to remove the potato carefully to achieve this effect.

Extra careful? What is careful of carefully? Appears legis.

 

[Hawkeye]

Extra careful? What is careful of carefully? Appears legis.

Meta-careful.


What is the opposite of "to cleave"?

 

[Grayman]

Meta-careful.


What is the opposite of "to cleave"?

from mend

 

[Aerl]

This should have been named: Answer the question above and pose a new
(question which has the same pattern).
Or: The game of learning.

 

[Grayman]

This should have been named: Answer the question above and pose a new
(question which has the same pattern).

That shouldn't in the future be unamed; Question an answer below or unpose many old )answers which had a different choatic structure(?

 

[Aerl]

That shouldn't in the future be unamed; Question an answer below or unpose many old )answers which had a different choatic structure(?

Never did I think that the approximate translation of the words which I used to define what I think into opposites could yield so much meaning! This blows my mind to a degree.

 

[kaelum]

random thought: the opposite of "one" is "two". "One" is being alone, "two" is not being alone, and "more than 2" is back to being alone (I like small groups)