What if the glass isn't exactly half full?

[WTE_Galway]

Originally Posted by Oldschool61

No you would have to say its over half empty or something similar for that first analogy. Saying its half empty is an exact description not an estimate.

One solution is to say that you just need to bring in comparison operators. Saying that its "at least half empty" then encompasses the instance of being "1/3 full".

Another way of looking at is the glass is always completely full, half with water and half with air. (Half full to the human eye, half empty from the perspective of air content.)

According to a linguist, the glass is half full, because the word 'full' and the word 'glass' are related in the same contextual meaning. A glass is primarily filled and not emptied, so if it contains water, we should be considering how filled with something and not emptied of something the glass is. In other words, the glass is a container and not a "emptier".

Finally you may wish to decide on full versus empty on the basis of its previous state. Hence if you are pouring a drink it is converging on the half fulls state from a previously empty state. if you are drinking the drink its converging on a half empty state from a previously full state.