RESOLVED: The phrase "Equal Opportunity" refers to probability, not possibility.

Pro said “take the phrase Pro life. While Pro, and life have definitions of their own, and combined together form a definition that would include someone who is against capital punishment and euthanasia, the phrase only refers to an individual’s position on abortion” This is not necessarily true. “Pro” is used in adjective form, to describe the noun, “life”. (adj) pro (in favor of (an action or proposal etc.)) "a pro vote" [1] (n) life (the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)) “the battery had a short life”[2] Pro Life, literally means in favor of being born Pro living would be in favor of keeping a prisoner alive (or alternatively con death). (n) living (the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities) "he could no longer cope with the complexities of living"[3] Understanding Possibility and Probability Pro took the example of possibility out of context, and ignored the definition entirely, drawing the conclusion that, “possibility in the singular form refers to something that either exists or it doesn’t” The definition was, “a future prospect or potential”, not a prospect or potential. Just because you did not choose one of the many possibilities, does not mean it no longer exists. Take for example, a fork in the road, you can go down one road, but the other road will still be there; each road is a potential path. Another example would be rain, the probability of rain could be 1%, but there is still a possibility of a potential storm cloud, in that 1%. A 1% chance of rain may be highly improbable, but it’s still possible; only a 0% chance of rain could make it impossible. If you truly believe that painting your room blue takes away the possibility to paint it red, than you must have a lot of regrets. A Strong Possibility (adj) strong (of good quality and condition; solidly built)[4] In the last round I pointed out the difference between quality and quantity. A strong possibility refers to the quality of the possibility, not the quantity. In the last round I provided a definition for probability, which was, “a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible” 100% is possible, and every percentile is a possibility; probability is the number of favorable cases compared to the 100% possible; a strong possibility would be a higher quality percentile, since each percentile is a possibility. It is possible you may be president one day, but it is improbable due to the competition. Applying Equal Opportunity to Possibility / Probability Pro says “these circumstances are not part of the possibility, they are simply what caused it to exist. Therefore the circumstances can not be used to measure the possibility, which is exactly what Cons argument does.” Obviously he didn’t read my argument too carefully because the first line I wrote in round 2 was “The literal Definition of ‘Equal Opportunity’ is having the same quantity of favorable circumstances to create a possibility.” On an unrelated note, I would also like to thank Pro for admitted circumstances can’t be used to measure opportunity; I’m glad you can finally own up to your mistakes. Pro claims, “if an individual has 1 favorable circumstance that leads to a possibility, then the possibility exists. If another individual has 2 favorable circumstances that lead to the very same possibility, the possibility still exists just the same. However according to Cons application of this definition, the individual with 2 favorable circumstances has a greater opportunity then the individual who only has one.” This is faulty logic, as a circumstance does not equal a possibility; notice the word combination in the definition, “favorable combination of circumstances”. (n) combination (a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities)[5] (n) circumstance (a condition that accompanies or influences some event or activity)[6] Circumstances make up the quality of a possibility. Pro said, “The significance to doing this is that by using the number of favorable circumstances we are now creating a metric to measure the opportunity. If opportunity refers to possibility then no metric would apply because possibility simply exists. However by measuring it we now cross into the definition of probability, the same way that using ‘trong’ to describe possibility did earlier.” Strong is used in the sense of quality, not quantity, as I have already pointed out; I also pointed out that circumstances are a quality of opportunities; thus equal circumstances means an equal quality of opportunities, so yes it similar to describing it as a strong opportunity, just not the way you assume. Pro used a baseball analogy to describe a “great opportunity to win”, yet he ignores the fact that “great” refers yet again to the quality not the quantity, and winning is the opportunity, while losing is an alternative possibility. Pro also ignores the fact that improbable does not = impossible. Measuring Possibility Possibilities can be measured, for example you are given 3 doors; door # 1, door #2, and door #3; you have 3 possibilities. Reclarification of Equal Opportunity I noticed a mistake I made when given my original combined definition of equal opportunity; pointing out that mistake actually strengthens my argument. Opportunity was defined as “a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances”[7] Thus, equal opportunity is “the same quantity of possibilities, due to a favorable combination of circumstances” Thus opportunity it’s self is a form of possibility, and equal opportunity is thus equal possibility. Conclusion Opportunity itself is a form of possibility; possibilities can be measured, and because probability = favorable cases / all cases possible, probability is dependent on possibility. Words such as “strong” and “great” refer to the quality of a possibility, or probability. So long as there is not 0% probability, there is still a possibility. The definition of equal opportunity is literally equal possibility. http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu... http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu...