(Syllogism and journalists)

Food in office canteen comes cheap. Sometimes , bloody cheap, indeed. Cheap food is generally (though not as a rule) said to be of lesser quality. Therefore office canteen food is of lesser quality. Is it some kind of quirky syllogism?  Perhaps. Syllogism – a form of logical argument that derives its conclusion from two propositions, sharing a common term, usually somewhat like this. All poets are alcoholics. Busybee is a poet. Therefore he is an alcoholic. Some deductive logic indeed, but the conclusion can be relied upon only if both premises are true.

   Syllogistic reasoning is said to be of medieval origin, and fiction-writers syllogize at times for that dramatic effect. But the maiden visit to our office canteen the other day woke me up to the time-worn truism, that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. In this case, it also brought about an entirely different persona in me. The reason was the unexpectedly good quality food, at the price at which it came. A sumptuous meal with a south Indian filter coffee thrown in, literally for a penny, as it were. For Rs 1.50, actually. This is stuff made of folklore, especially in these days of high inflation. But the strange thing was that after the meal, when my turn came to hand over the food coupon (of the above stated value), I was in two minds. Should I hand over higher value coupons, or should I give what is being suggested by my colleagues as fair value, or more precisely `unfair value’. A Rupee for a meal, and paise 50 for a cup of coffee?  You must be kidding. Canteenwalas in other  offices would think this is from Ripley’s Believe it or not facts. But having finally handed over the coupon, I was left wondering. Why did I not do my little bit by paying `true value’ rather than (un)fair value?

   I would like to conclude with my own brand of re-defined “syllogism”, borrowing a bit from Oscar Wilde, who said a “pessimist is one who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing”. Not known whether he had a journalist in mind when he said this..

 Quality food for free; Well, almost free. Does this diminish the quality of the food served? Absolutely not. Why then did I not pay more, even when I wanted to? Why did I suddenly become so possessive of the coupons which cost literally next to nothing. Will I be labelled, after this, as one “who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing.”? Syllogism at work again. All journalists are storytellers. Storytellers are misers. All journalists are misers.